Black Mercury
by Riocynn
Summary: A Riolu prodigy under the name of a family which has brought fear to the world is forced to fend for himself when all of the familiar faces he once knew vanish before his eyes. Now, he encounters many friends that will help him through apocalyptic earth.
1. Beginning Anew

"…humans. So naïve, so bold. So ignorant, yet, I love them as I pity them.

-Lord Aika

** ** **

Chapter 1

All was steady; the cry of a newborn was heard. Steady beeps of a heartbeat monitor became the overpowering symphony as the sun lends its light through the windowpane. The untainted industrial rubber flooring and snowy tint of the room concentrated all eyes on the colorful Pokemon who resided within. A family of Lucarios with abnormally azure eyes huddled around the newly hatched egg within the comfort and security of a human hospital. The first born huddled over his new sibling in awe; fascinated by the fact that he just witnessed a living creature emerge from something as fragile as an egg.

He was told over and over again by his father that he would be his little sibling's guardian if the "test results" came in positive. The Riolu blindly obliged; knowing he could not deny a responsibility like that given by his father.

The hospital room was reserved for the Lucarios for they had set up an appointment for a full checkup on their egg also a test for a certain match of relative DNA. Oddly enough, however, the egg hatched as soon as they entered the room. How convenient.

It was a peaceful place; the heartbeat monitor set up to the infant as overwhelmed doctors attempted to rush to more dire medical problems. It seemed healthy; it cried like it should have, there were no physical deformities, no anomalistic coloration.

"Dad, is it going to have a name?" the Riolu queried; his eyes fixated on the infant. On his tip-toes the little Riolu stood, instantly setting goals for himself to become the world's greatest brother and even possibly a bodyguard. He could just imagine himself in all black with sunglasses and a headset while he escorted his sibling everywhere.

His father, with a stern look, glared down upon his first born with subtle disgust. "Be patient." He muttered; irises shifting to an emerald green state. He was a little jittery; waiting for the test results impatiently.

"Your eyes." The mother commented, a look of concern befalling her as she clenched to her new born. "Why are they stressed?"

The father, taking a look at the large mirror, realized what she was referring to. He took a deep breath and patted his second born on the head gently. "We'll see what we can name it when the doctor returns, Isaac… okay?" he put on a fake smile as his emerald eyes reverted color to sapphire.

By now, the baby had stopped crying.

Isaac hopped up so he could get a better visual on the infant. Medical personnel were to be there shortly but in the meantime, the family had the little baby to themselves, "It's so… squishy." Isaac commented; continuously jabbing his paws into his sibling. The mother, Lisa Riocynn, cuddled her newborn with such a tender touch. You could see the joy in her heart. The father, Victor Riocynn, kept his arms crossed as he impatiently waited for assistance with this baby.

"So," Isaac started. "It… sorta looks like a girl."

Lisa laughed at her son's obliviousness. As she enjoyed every moment of this miracle, Victor seemed to have only one thing on his mind. He would constantly glare at the door, hoping somebody would come in so he would not have to stay a second longer in this human hospital.

Isaac moved up close to the baby Riolu and stared it in the eyes, "You'd better be a boy." He playfully warned with a warm smile on his face, suddenly, the baby Riolu flicked him on the nose, "Heh, okay smarty pants, if you're a girl I'll love you the same…" this distinct smell of cheap cologne gradually intensified. The heavenly light peering through the hospital window shone upon the door as a human entered.

"Victor and Lisa Riocynn?" medical personnel had finally come, it was a pudgy human doctor with oval-shaped glasses which rested on the bridge of his nose. He carried a clipboard in his right hand and a pencil in his left.

Victor nodded as he gestured for the doctor to hurry up. His impatience was beginning to get on Lisa's nerves as she tried to take a more polite approach. "Do what you need to do, doctor." She smiled.

"We got your baby's DNA results in. Our scanners of your child's form, metabolism and everything else has been resulted. Congratulations Victor and Lisa Riocynn, your baby is fully healthy and… drum roll please," he joked, "It's a boy."

"Aha!" Isaac responded. "I knew you'd be a boy! Yahoo!"

"Damn it!" Victor roared. Isaac flinched and backed away, hiding behind his mother who covered the infant's ears. "You know what I've been waiting for; is he a positive match or not?"

"I apologize." The doctor formed up the only response he could against an enraged Lucario who could probably rip him in half in a millisecond. He trembled slightly. "It seems… yes; your child's DNA is a positive match to the DNA of Aderos Riocynn. Did I pronounce that correctly?"

"Yes, yes you did." Victor shooed the doctor away. "Let us be alone with our… son." A smile formed on his face, a look of excitement brewing as it feels as if the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. His dreams had come true; the dream to hear that doctor tell him that his son had the DNA of the grandmaster of the Riocynn Pack… and the founded legacy that comes with it.

Lisa glared at her husband. "Are you satisfied now, Victor?" that aura of love emitting from his mother had dimmed down and her gentle caress ceased.

"As a matter of fact," he winked. "I am."

While his parents spoke gibberish about things irrelevant to Isaac, he kept his eyes fixated on his little brother, he tried to make up a name from the back of his mind, he thought and thought but nothing came to mind, nothing… until he remembered a little Chimecho he played with a long time ago with a name he rather fancied.

"Mom?" he intervened; his father had ceased speaking and sighed, trying to politely wait for his son to talk.

"Yes, Isaac?"

"I thought of a name."

"Really, now? Let me hear it!" 

"Hmm… on second thought, never mind."

"No, no Isaac, please share with us!"

"Okay… um… Can we name him-"

"Lancer." Victor interjected; leaning in to pet his new son. "We'll name him Lancer."

There was a lengthy pause as Isaac expunged the name he had in mind. It was useless now. He smiled and responded: "That's a great name, dad!"

"Yes, it's..." Lisa glanced at Isaac, pausing for a short while. "…a great name."

"Lancer… Lancer Riocynn." Victor repeated, an egotistical smile appearing. "Surely the name of a legend. You got lucky, son. Very lucky… and I'm glad you did." He closed in on the infant; his features darkened out by his shadow. "You've got quite a journey ahead of you."

Isaac, with his eyes still fixated on his little brother, suddenly caught a glimpse of something as everybody else turned away… something truly unusual. Without warning, Isaac saw Lancer's fur color shift to white… transforming into sort of ghostly image. As soon as Lisa turned back to face her child, his fur had reverted back.

"What… was that?" he asked himself, hoping that was just his imagination. As his little brother stared at him, Isaac felt this unnaturally foreboding feeling. His little brother's glare was frightening him… that look of obliviousness somehow coupled in with a look of pure evil.

Isaac, no longer able to handle that stare, turned away. He began to shiver. "Whoa…" he grabbed himself. "…I must be some sort of wimp to be afraid of a baby." He tried to turn back to Lancer, but as soon as their eyes met again, Isaac was forced to turn away for the second time.

There was too much power resonating from that infant.

**

Black Mercury - The Tale of the Riocynns

~

The year is 2160; 14 years after the birth of Lancer Riocynn. The date is irrelevant. The world is ending. Earth is infected; organizations spawn from chaos, the disease is united under one rule, it is manipulation. Nobody is safe, nothing is sacred… nothing will be the same. As events followed from the capturing of a gem, the entire world slowly enveloped into darkness and gradually descended into hell. The efforts of so many in vain, so many deaths meaningless. As the uninfected humans and Pokemon attempt to unite under one flag against this threat, the entire world is being demolished and recreated in one Pokemon's image.

Welcome to Civilization's Recreation.

**

The only two Regions that still contain un-infected life-forms are the Hoenn Region and the Sinnoh Region. The rest… destroyed. The Blight, all infected by a substance travelling within their bloodstream known as "Siirum", annihilated anyone who got in their way. The brutality of their blows, their ferociousness, the unique attributes given to them by infection… all of these played huge factors in these hostile takeovers. These infected beings were nothing to be laughed at, nothing to not take seriously.

Their irises emerald green, their sclera piss yellow; the infected were never unnoticeable and always feared… fearing not death, but fearing failure to their lord.

Delving into the Hoenn Region with three Strongholds in the defense against the Blight… we now scratch one off of the list. Rustboro city, the weakest of the three Strongholds, had fallen overnight in a surprisingly organized Blight ambush.

These kind of attacks are known as "Blight Storms", which is when a large group of infected Infantry raid a pinpointed area. In a matter of minutes, the residents and military taking refuge within its walls opened fire and chaos struck the vicinity. Nobody could predict it. The Blight had not attacked any Strongholds for almost 8 months. The Stronghold fell after one day of grenades detonating, guns firing, Pokemon attributed abilities activating… death… and discord. It only took 24 hours, just one day, the defense against the numerous Blight fell and there were no records of any survivors… well… maybe not "None".

We join a young Riolu trapped in the remains of Rustboro city with his older brother, a Lucario, around the middle of the night. Rustboro city was already destroyed. Now all that was left for the Blight to do was to find survivors and corpses then infect them but, however, leave the humans to rot and die.

The two Pokemon hid under an overturned dark blue pickup truck next to a pile of miscellaneous house appliances. The night sky created this foreboding feeling as if the stars were watching this atrocity. The Riolu remained permanently distracted by those bright, flashing specs.

They both uncontrollably shivered, hoping for someone to come and save them… hoping for something to ease their stress and fear. The smell of smoke and rotting flesh choked them. The destruction surrounding them was nearly too much for the little Riolu to handle. He stared at the sky, hoping for answers and comfort.

Isaac, the older brother of the Riolu, had just pulled a large wooden door out of their way, overturning vehicles, moving debris aside and doing everything else while his little brother could only watch.

He hated it.

He wished he could just yell at his little brother, yell for help, shout out to the ever-powerful Lancer Riocynn… the son that was loved the most among the two. He couldn't keep himself together for long, he needed assistance, he needed somebody he could rely on; a wingman… but all he got was dead-weight.

"Okay, Lancer…" Isaac whispered so low that it was nearly incoherent "…the Blight Slaves are gone, I think we can continue…" suddenly, a helicopter passed by, Isaac didn't even bother to try calling them down, they wouldn't hear or see him and it would attract Slaves to the area. What a predicament. "Damn it." He muttered, shaking his head in frustration.

Lancer and Isaac were stuck in Rustboro city; they were most likely the only uninfected beings left in the area due to the Blight Storm. They were next to the old Pokemon Center that was completely destroyed, its slide-open doors bashed open, the large sign that portrayed, "P.C." was ripped apart, and the brick-red roof had caught a small fire, the smoke releasing into the air.

The roads were gray as the clouds were on a rainy day, the night was bleak, pitch-black from lack of streetlights or any kind of electrical lighting devices. Only the half-crescent moon shone upon them.

The only thing that was heard was the sound of Slaves screeching in the distance. They must have been continuing up Route 115 towards Fallarbor town or passed Route 116 towards Verdanturf town, continuing on to the other towns then beginning all over again.

Lancer and Isaac quickly ran across the street, straight over to the demolished Pokemon Gym; reduced to pure rubble. "Isaac…" Lancer began, his voice quivering in the low-temperature of midnight, "…where do we go now? This was the last city that seemed to have a large amount of Titan soldiers in the area."

"I don't know, Lancer," Isaac seethed at the sight of his unprepared little brother. "but this is not the last city that holds Titan soldiers, they only tried to reinforce Rustboro before the Slaves came in… that is where this all went wrong" It was true. The Sevynn Syndicate, proprietor of human soldiers, sent a bit of human reinforcements to Rustboro city to deliver food and water but then the Slaves attacked. It was utterly pointless.

"Damn…"

Isaac, without warning, shoved his little brother to the ground and quietly ordered him to keep quiet. A low growl was heard as Isaac readied himself; his blue eyes shifting color to lime green which indicated that a Lucario from the Riocynn Pack was becoming hostile or very stressed.

"Isaac… I'm scared…" Lancer whispered as he buried his head in Isaac's chest. He was too dependent, too inexperienced. Isaac could not stand it… their parents gave so much of their time to Lancer and for what? To have this kid who relies on his brother way too much. It may have been Isaac's duty to guard Lancer until he was ready to grasp his "destiny", but Isaac could not help but wonder why he was not the one who was chosen.

"Don't worry" Isaac responded, still in a low tone with that same subtle disgust his father used to show him, "There is nothing we can do about this, if we fight them, we'll be taking a huge risk, one bite from these guys' fangs and we'll become infected."

Both of the brothers kept low as they sensed something approach. They witnessed a Blight Slave, a male Grumpig by the look of it, crawling down on both arms and legs passed the street like a spider searching around every corner for prey. The Grumpig Slave was completely pale in the night's sky with grown fangs due to the custom Siirum mutation. Its eyes travelled wildly, studying every corner and ever little detail in the area.

"Ugly bastard." Isaac muttered as they both hid under a car door. Lancer covered his mouth as he shivered and whimpered; he was making too much noise and he could not control himself.

The Slave stopped in his tracks right in the middle of the road and right across from where Isaac and Lancer took cover. The Slave jolted his head back and forth, sniffing furiously until he picked up the 2 brothers' scent. That is when he let out this eardrum shattering screech… the sound of thousands of claws scraping against a chalkboard at once.

They just could not take that kind of deafening noise from up close. Uncontrollably, they both let out shrieks of pain, giving the Slave a visual on his prey.

He lunged towards the two Lucarios with his back arched forwards as his arms dangling behind as if they were paralyzed. "Lancer, get down!" Isaac shouted as he charged up a ball of Aura in his right paw.

A Force Palm.

it circled around like an atom but remained under Isaac's control. He growled; waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike knowing he only had one shot and if he screws up… he's infected.

Lancer screamed and scrambled away from the battleground as Isaac's Aura collided with the Slave's skull, completely shattering both the Aura and the skull simultaneously. The Slave slid across the ground, kicking up large amounts of dust as his fur scraped against the ground.

Finally it stopped as dust retreated into the sky. He tried to get up but just could not find the stamina or willpower to do so. He was dead.

Lancer's sense of insecurity drip out of his body as if it was a liquid, he had felt so happy that his brother was still alright. Isaac was all he had left after "Black Mercury"… the day the Earth went straight to hell. His parents, friends, and relatives… all dead.

"Isaac! I thought I was going to lose you!" Lancer nearly screamed. He caught himself, lowering it into a barely audible squeal of joy. "Thank god!" the little Riolu quivered, he hugged his brother who continued panting from his short-encounter with that Slave.

"Lancer… stop it!" Isaac ordered. "Be a man! If you lose me, are you just going to shiver up and die?"

"Don't say that…" Lancer whispered, "…I'm just happy is all." He buried his face into Isaac.

Before Isaac could let out all of his frustration, they both heard the eerie screeching of a pack of Slaves from the distance. The ground nearly vibrated from the quantity of hostiles, this stench of decay intensifying, that thunderous screech simultaneously escaping the Slaves' mouths.

The entire Blight Storm group had heard them.

"Holy shit…" Isaac whispered as they both jumped up from behind the rubble of the Pokemon Gym, "…it looks like the screech our little Slave gave off signaled for the rest to come back here…"

"We're dead… aren't we." Lancer collapsed upon his knees as he cupped his paws around his mouth. His voice quivered, his fear was noticeable and Isaac could take it no longer.

"Mom and dad loved you more?" he chuckled, completely ignoring the approach of raging maniacal creatures. "They… spent so much time trying to make you into this… Riocynn messiah but you… you can't even eat your breakfast by yourself!"

"Isaac…" Lancer muttered. "…Stop it."

"Lancer… mother told me to protect you after she died, father told me to always protect you as if my life was only worthy due to that objective. There's no way we're getting out here… so I'd might as well give you the chance… you fucking baby!"

Lancer, in shock, instantly burst out crying. His brother's insults just pierced his heart like a harpoon. In his already emotional state, hearing this made him bawl his eyes out.

"Damn it, Lancer!" Isaac slapped his little brother, hoping to knock some sense and mentality into him. "I love you!" that did not sound sincere at all. "You're my little brother and I just can't change that. Our lives proceeded in a way where we couldn't control it… it's not your damn fault, now go! Go already!" as soon as he turned around, predicting a wave of Slaves before him… he was greeted by a Ninetales who had instantly dug its teeth within his shoulder.

"Run now, Lancer!" Isaac roared as he began charging up a Hyper Beam. "Get out of here… and just don't die out there, damn it! Be a man!" he unleashed his power upon the Ninetales; instantly killing the fox. He was then overrun; multiple Slaves tackled him and held him down as they each took their own turns ripping into his flesh. He charged his aura blindly to create a burning force field of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Slaves backed off momentarily.

Regrettably, Lancer retreated and headed down Route 104 near Petalburg city. Everything was a blur, nothing was coherent… he wanted to faint, he wanted to just fall over and let somebody else take him… but nobody was left.

He turned around to see his brother standing there in the middle of the road with another Force Palm ready. He stood there valiantly, no fear in the look of his stance. Then, like an ocean rushing upon the shore, a wave of Slaves lunged towards him, a multiple selection of Pokemon all charging at Isaac at once. There were so many of them, and that is when he turned around and glared at Lancer.

That look he gave said it all. "You'd better not let this death be in vain, you big baby."

Isaac fought them off, so many of them just went flying through the air. He was a great warrior, but to survive while being outnumbered so greatly was just impossible. He knew if he tried to run away with Lancer he would just be endangering both of them. Slaves were notorious for chasing down their victims to the ends of the Earth, there was no escape, either you kill them or you become infected with Siirum and… he's already been infected.

It's too late for him.

"Isaac!" Lancer screamed at the top of his lungs as his knees hit the soft dirt, and before he knew it, the Slaves were all over his big brother, biting down into his skin like he was just a Stantler. He finally gave in and ceased his resistance.

The screeching lowered, the sounds of ripping flesh ceased and the Slaves seemed to have calmed down. Lancer had found a safe and hidden area to hide behind a tree within the Petalburg Woods, only being capable of watching his brother's suffering. His brother rose from the crowd, puncture wounds riddled his body. His eyes had reverted to their default; glowing green and yellow as his fangs instantly widened and sharpened themselves. He snarled… then screeched just as they did.

Lancer could witness no more, he ran away… ran as fast as he could through the woods.

Ran…  
Ran…  
Ran…

He ran with tears of regret in his eyes. He no longer wanted to see it… he did not want to see the demonic creature his own flesh and blood has become. He just kept running until he disappeared into the lonely woods with the sound of his soft crying echoing passed the trees… defeated… knowing now he has nothing in this world.

Black Mercury Clear Ups

~ The Blight is the name given to those infected by Siirum.

~Titans are the nickname for human soldiers working under the "Sevynn Syndicate"

~Lancer is 14 years old while his brother, Isaac, is 17.

~Age is affected differently in Pokemon these days. A drug known as "Equal Age" has forced Pokemon of all species to live nearly as long as humans. However, different ages for different species would classify them as an adult. For Lucarios, 15 is the age where you become an adult.


	2. Sapphire Ryoka

Chapter 2: Sapphire Ryoka

In the Petalburg Woods, Lancer wandered around the area aimlessly like a madman. Aimless and lonely he was with no sense of purpose. He felt as if he could just walk in circles for the rest of his life and he would be fully accomplished. His thoughts wandered frantically. Lancer wanted to die; he wanted to join the rest of his family and friends wherever the deceased reside. He desired to see the light, to hear laughter again and feel joy one more time.

After all was said and done… of course he would be the last one standing. He never fully comprehended why his parents were so fascinated with him. He had never done anything special but they kept referring to a Phantom or something. A certain "Aderos Riocynn" which Lancer has never seen in the Riocynn Pack.

Why was Lancer so important? Why did everybody lose their lives for him? Why was he such a VIP?

He could not stop the tears from flowing out of his eyes no matter how hard he tried, he just could not shake the fact that his brother had sacrificed himself just so he could give his little brother a chance at life. What a noble deed but what a devastating effect on his little brother. He may have done the little Riolu more harm than good in the process, scarring the poor child for the rest of his life… knowing that when his head pops off the little pillow he rests on, he will know he has nothing to wake up to.

The forest was scarce, no Pokemon around. Lancer was alone and hungry, longing for somebody he could depend on. The abundant trees that surrounded him were blocking off the moon's light and the ground was damp as Lancer continued along, with every step resulting in that moist squish.

Lancer remembered when this forest was crawling with so many happy bug-type Pokemon.

He never expected any Pokemon. He dropped his hopes and knew he was to, reluctantly, look after himself from now on but then he heard a rustle in the bushes to his left. Two long and yellow ears with black tips poked up from behind a Pecha berry bush.

"Who's there?" Lancer's frightened voice posed him as no threat until he charged up an Aura Sphere in both of his paws and held it there in a ball of blue and white energy until he figured out who was supposedly stalking him, "I-I… I'm a Riocynn! You don't want to mess with me!" his blue eyes faded away and was replaced by the hostile green Riocynn eyes as he began to hyperventilate in anticipation.

He prepared himself.

"Yo! There's no need to get violent!" a female Pikachu had slowly scampered out of the bushes with her front paws up in the air as if she was being mugged. She was heading her own way but was interrupted. Looks like she was not the stalker he assumed her to be.

Upon seeing this Pikachu, normal and obviously uninfected with Siirum, he let his guard down and the Aura Sphere vanished out of sight in the process. His eyes reverted back to blue. "What is your problem?" was the Pikachu's response to Lancer's overreaction.

"I am sorry… I-" he cut himself off and looked away. "You can keep going, I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Oh." She took a nice long look at him, scanning from head to toe. She gave her final conclusion and sustained a friendly smile. The Pikachu giggled. "It's all good! As long as you're not really trying to kill me, you're alright in my book!" she gave him a friendly pat on the back. She noticed Lancer flinching and tilted her head. "Y'know… hehe, I'm not gonna hurt you."

I'm… I'm just a little shaken is all." He rubbed his right arm, head tilted downwards studying his own feet. "I just lost my brother in a Blight Storm and…" Lancer stopped, trying not to relive the moment that seemed to have occurred so many years ago.

The truth was: he was looking for sympathy. He wanted somebody to feel bad for him, he wanted somebody to tell him how bad they felt for him.

"Oh no, you poor thing, are you hurt?" the Pikachu sincerely asked… music to Lancer's ears. He did not know how to feel about seeing a friendly face once more; he just did not show any expressions. He just leaned against the oak tree next to him, overlooking a massive mud pile.

There was a short moment of silence when the sound of a Slave's screech was heard in the distance. Lancer turned back to the Pikachu and said, "It's okay; just a few bruises and all that. I'll be fine."

"Aw - are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm… y'know what? I got a proppy for you!"

"Proppy?"

"Hehe, my own word for 'proposition'… anyways, what I was saying is… why don't you come with me? I'm heading to Checkpoint: Orpheus down in old Dewford town. It's a safe place and I can introduce you to my father who lives there! Hehe, he's a scientist y'know!" she tugged on him a little. "Come on! I wanted to have company anyways, y'know? It'll be cool to have, um, someone like you! Someone like you! Hehe…" her cheeks turned rosy.

"You're heading there now?" Lancer almost yelled in anticipation. Hope had regenerated itself in the form of a female Pikachu. How absurd. "I've never been there though… what's it like?"

"Checkpoint: Orpheus is a small underground city, actually created during the Anti-Pokemon Revolution. I'm a scout for my father and I go around trying to find things he could use for his experiments plus since they are all underground, they barely have any idea what's happening on the surface. You could call me a bringer of bad news. I believe my news about the destruction of Rustboro city would be relevant to that title. So, hehe, do you wanna come with me? I can sure use the company." She smiled at Lancer as she awaited a response, her little ears twitched as he prepared an answer.

"Yeah, I'll go… but are you sure you want me to come with you?" Lancer queried. "I'm not sure if I'm the most dependable person." He relayed one of Isaac's final messages. "They… spent so much time trying to make you into this… Riocynn messiah but you… you can't even eat your breakfast by yourself!"

"Yeah! Hehe, I'm sure you'll do fine." She had this look to her that Lancer could not understand. She kept smiling at him, blushing around him and she constantly giggled when she spoke. Apparently love-at-first-sight was not something he comprehended. "Hmm, could I, uh, ask one question though?"

"Sure."

"How old are you?"

Lancer responded with no hesitation. "14".

The Pikachu's mind just went in the gutter, a look of fright befell her and she was now trying to delete all pervy thoughts of her and this Riolu. She was 17. "Well… uh, yeah, sorry. Just curious." She put up a fake smile. "So, anyways, I'll get you to Checkpoint: Orpheus in a heartbeat!"

The Pikachu was now repeatedly yelling at herself subconsciously. "You were about to put the moves on a 14 year old Riolu?" she thought. "Well… he's technically almost legal and he's extremely cu-ute but… no, no, no! Get those images out of your head, dammit!"

With a word of gratitude from Lancer, the female Pikachu turned around and headed towards the small port where that old man used to live such a long time ago with his Wingull. His boat still stays there to this day because some people believe that it is haunted, but that was just a bunch of stupid superstitions.

On the dock, the Pikachu pulled up the rope that held the boat in place. Her small stature caused this task to be difficult. It was comical to see the Pikachu lean her body so low back that her head came about 2 centimeters from the ground. Lancer, however, did not even crack a smile.

"Is it safe?" he asked, observing the boat sway back and forth. "It doesn't look too sturdy." He could hear Wingulls calling in the distance but upon attempting to locate these birds… he failed. He must have just been imagining things.

"Hah, of course this is safe, silly, do you really believe in those "Haunted Ship" stories?" she laughed as she finally got the huge boat to dock and tied up the line so it would not drift away. "Plus, I use this little old ship to get from here to Checkpoint: Orpheus all the time! The Blight doesn't even attempt to attack me, they're probably even smart enough to believe nobody would use a piece of crap like this!"

"So… why are you using this piece of crap then?"

"Well. I just make it look that way, y'know?" the Pikachu had officially lost our little Riolu. "Me and my daddy actually worked on it, making sure it works perfectly but making it look as unstable as possible to repel most anybody." She giggled. "What's-a-matter? Y'scared?"

"Yes. Yes I am." Lancer retorted. "I'm not going to die on a boat."

"Aww, come on now! Y'don't trust me?"

"No."

"Well… that was mean." The Pikachu sighed. "Well, if you really don't trust me, I'll let you go inspect it. Is that cool?"

"Oh… kay…?" was Lancer's response as he tried not to show any fear in his face, but he could not change the fact that he was terrified. He kept thinking that he would take one step upon the boat and have the entire thing collapse. Plus… he couldn't swim.

This overwhelming feeling then vanished. He was trapped in between the fear of death and the acceptance of death. He wanted to die… but he did not now that he had somebody else to depend on. He was confusing himself to no end but he concluded: whatever happens… happens.

The tugboat was rickety and it screeched as the waves from the ocean rowed it back and forth. Lancer climbed aboard from the Tyre Fender and charged an Aura Sphere once again just like he did with the Pikachu when she startled him, "I'm pretty sure a Blight Slave isn't gonna have a little camp in there!"

A large drop of sweat slid down his neck. "Sorry. I'm just being cautious." he muttered in response. It was a fairly large tugboat, big enough for perhaps 6 people. He explored the wheelhouse, checked out the mainmast, H-bitt and main deck. He then closely examined the bow and the hull in which he finally concluded that it was safe.

"You were right." he had walked outside but to his horror he witnessed his Pikachu friend on the ground facedown, her eyes shut very tightly. She was absolutely stiff. Dead. "No…" Lancer uttered. He choked a little, tears forming as he felt helpless and defenseless.

He let out a scream and began to frantically search the area for Slaves or something that must have killed her, his heart pounded against his chest so hard he believed it would explode. "Wha… wha… what happened to you?"

Lancer felt a wave of fear sweep over him, his eyes exclaimed confusion, he began to sweat, "No… not again!" he yelled. Lancer ducked down to check her pulse… she… had one? Was she just unconscious? Her heart was beating just fine. Lancer, perplexed, stood up and tapped her with his foot a little. Cruelly, the Pikachu rose up from the ground and began to laugh at Lancer, a laugh that shifted his emotions into pure rage.

His eyes, once again, became emerald green and burned into the laughing Pikachu. He grinded his teeth and let out a low growl as blood slid down his chin. He had been biting down his lower lip.

"You bitch!" Lancer shouted as he waved his front paws all around, his large black dredlocks dangling all over the place. Tears began to slide out of his eyes, flooding the fur on his face as he turned around; unable to face this little prankster anymore. "You bitch…" he uttered as the emotion of fear flowed down the river of his mind and was replaced by infuriation.

How dare she pull a prank like this…

"Haha… sorry… I just couldn't resist that… truly, it was just a joke, y'know? I'm sorry" she responded, trying to keep a straight face which resulting in her cracking up once again.

"Hey!" Lancer roared, shutting her up, "This is no joke… This is no joke!" he charged up a ball of Aura in his paws rammed it into the ground; creating a large indent. "Do you not see the severity of my situation?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I guess you are not a very playful type of guy." was her response as she finally was able to maintain a straight face. "What a serious 14 year old." She thought.

"I just lost my flesh and blood to the Blight… I just lost my… brother… to… the… Blight. I just lost everybody! My family, my friends… everybody!" Lancer shouted as he stared off at the forest in the direction of Rustboro city. His brother's grave. "Now, either you kindly shut the hell up, or I'm finding my own way to Dewford town!" that confused little kid had vanished for a moment and was replaced by an angry, vengeful Riolu. The Pikachu saw this change of behavior with that change in eye color.

"Okay, I'm truly and sincerely sorry…" she sincerely replied. She lowered her head and ears in shame as if she were being scolded by her father. "Really, I'm sorry, can you forgive me?"

Lancer turned to see her eyes shining in the moonlight, she knew she had really distressed Lancer by playing that prank on him but she was just trying to cheer him up with a little crude humor. Perhaps not the best approach for a problem of this caliber.

"Fine…" he crossed his little arms, restoring his calm, blue eyes. He glanced up to the half-crescent moon. "…just leave me alone for a little bit."

"Sure." She responded as she scurried into the wheelhouse of the tugboat, hoping Lancer would still go along with her so she would not be lonely on the way to the Checkpoint.

Lancer sighed, turning around to face the road to Petalburg city; he could see it in the distance, completely turned to rubble by the Slaves. There was a trail of smoke rising… Lancer instantly pictured that Pokemon Center he and Isaac crossed paths with. He then shifted his attention to the plant life. Most of the trees all around have been burned or chopped down, and the beautiful plants that used to reside there have all died. The grass was dried up and there were no bug Pokemon in the area like there should have been.

How depressing.

But then, Lancer heard something in the distance. He turned around and was about to call his companion for help, but he decided to go investigate by himself, just so he could keep his pride against his taunting companion Pikachu. "I'll do it myself, she'll probably just pretend to die again…"

"You big baby" Isaac's words echoed in his mind.

The noise originated from the dried up bushes nearby. "Who is out there…?" he called out, hoping for an answer but received a Pokemon: a female Luxray lunged out of the bush then slipped on the wet sand. She limped onto a large piece of wood that had washed up on the beach and collapsed right on top, exhausted and badly wounded. Lancer, cautious, slowly approached the Luxray while focusing on her eyes. He did not see the mark of Siirum within them so he proceeded carelessly, figuring she may be infected but perhaps she was just injured by something else. "Here! Let me help you!"

She did not answer, only groaned… her face twisted in pain. "…what happened to you?" Lancer yelled, his eyes fixated on the puncture wounds and bruises riddling her body.

Suddenly, like a waterfall, his rage against the Blight and the Pikachu's prank washed away and replaced with fear for the Luxray's survival.

"Oh my God..." those words silently escaped her lips, noticeably a struggle to speak, "You... you're Lancer Riocynn."

Lancer stood up and backed away from the Luxray, his sympathy for her suddenly began to decrease, "How did you know who I was…?" if he was famous, he sure as hell did not know about it.

"That's… that's not important… please... take this to Eizzan Hirotomi in..." she let out a gasp of pain and coughed up blood as Lancer watched with no expression on his face, the only question he wanted answered right at that moment was how she knew what his name was. Was she a friend of his parents or maybe Isaac? Either way, it did not look like she was going to give him that answer.

The Luxray had pulled out a note strapped to her left forearm and gave it to Lancer, "I was going to give it to you in… Rustboro but… obviously that didn't work out." She pulled herself together to the best of her abilities. "Promise me one thing…"

"What?"

"Take it to Eizzan, a Manectric in Checkpoint: Orpheus residing in Dewford town… and whatever you do… do not decline the proposition which comes along with the note."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Please… I've only been given orders to find you and give this to you; we've had reports that you've been keeping refuge in Rustboro city," she looked up at the smoke rising up into the night's sky.

"Wait a second; I need more information before I go out, you can't just expect me to do this out of nowhere."

"I've been assigned to give that to you, okay? I can't tell you anymore! Hurry up and leave! There is no time… I'm infected…"

Suddenly, through the silence of night came the loud, piercing screech of a Slave, but this was not distant, this was too close for comfort.

"They… they're coming…"

"Oh God… the Blight Storm… how did they hear us?" Lancer's suspicions instantly accused him of the previous moment when he barked at Sapphire for playing that prank on him, "You've got to be kidding…" he uttered in annoyance.

He took the note and began to retreat, shamefully forgetting about the dying Luxray. He stared at her then back at the boat. Unrescueable.

However, she reminded him of Isaac: how the infection travelled through her bloodstream and caused her to mutate, "I already know how this is going to end" he muttered and with that, he ran back to the tugboat where his companion was still getting ready for take-off.

"G-Go! Go! W-we need out of here, ASAP!' Lancer barked.

"Hold up, hold up!" the Pikachu intimated; perplexed. "Did you… forgive me or-"

"Come on, come on, come on!"

"Why, what's happening?" the Pikachu seriously did not hear the screech of Slaves?

Lancer paused for a moment when he heard the roars cease, surprisingly. They had just vanished, "The… the…" perplexed, he searched the beach… nobody. "…wait a second." Even the Luxray had vanished. What was going on? Was he going crazy? He took out the note and rubbed it all over his body. "This is real. There was a Luxray there but-" he cut himself off when he saw his companion gawking at him. "Sorry."

If those Slaves which Lancer heard even existed… what made them turn around?

Sapphire released the boat's restraint and they began to drift off when finally the Blight Storm appeared through the dead vegetation. A mass variety of Pokemon all with the same eyes glared at the Pikachu and Lancer. "I guess… it wasn't in my head." Lancer sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh man… that would've been bad."

"Hey-y-y!" the Pikachu called out to them. "You little bastards! What now?" she was definitely confident that they were not going to attack. She did explain it previously but there had to be another reason they wouldn't attack her boat. Are they incapable of swimming? Does water hurt them?

"Are you sure it's a good idea to ta-"

"Haha! Suckers! Have fun watching your food get away!" she climbed atop the wheelhouse, turned around and mockingly smacked her ass several times.

All Lancer could say to himself at this point was… was all of that really necessary?

He stared at the Blight Slaves in awe at how still they were watching them. They looked like they had no purpose, all broken Pokemon. However, the creepiest thing that Lancer was able to notice was… as he stared at them… it did not seem they were actually staring back. It felt like somebody miles away, instead, was staring at him. He could not describe it, but that was what he felt.

**

Finally they had begun their journey to Checkpoint: Orpheus, Dewford Town. Lancer looked at the Pikachu; she was manning the boat professionally. He was utterly shocked that he was able to find somebody he could actually rely on besides his brother.

"You know," Lancer started, trying to get his mind off of the Luxray, "It's odd that we've known each other for this amount of time and we still don't know each other's names. My name is Lancer Riocynn."

"That's a cute name, my name is Sapphire Ryoka." She complied with a smile as she was busy operating the boat. He never thought he would see a Pikachu operate a boat, but thank the heavens she was capable of doing so.

"I'm surprised." Lancer said.

"Hmm?"

"You can drive the boat so well."

"Yuppers, I'm kind of like a mechanical-maniac. I just love to find so many different little mechanisms on my little scouting trips." Sapphire responded as she turned the tugboat and began to advance at full speed, the engine roared and the boat bounced along the waves that formed under them.

**

As Sapphire was busy operating the boat, Lancer stepped out on the main deck and stared at the female Luxray that gave him the letter from a far distance. She was now becoming one of the Blight Slaves; her body was jolting around like she was having a seizure and the color of her eyes turned, of course, yellow and dark green. It was a very horrific sight to behold but Lancer was happy he got out of there in time, if they would have stayed longer, they would have been in deep danger.

"Poor girl." Lancer said under his breath as he rubbed his aching forehead. He opened the letter she had given him; it was hand-written and entitled: Who is God?

The paper was leathery had a sickly decomposing scent coming off of it as if the paper itself was made by the skin of the deceased. Lancer lay the strange paper upon the deck and read it aloud to himself.

"I know what God is: It 1 is 18 a 3 term 5 to 21 refer 19 to a being of great power. Mostly a 9 power 19 indefinable. Power that is unable 14 to 15 be 20 explained. Everything is said to have been created by God. Recognize its potential, recognize who it really is. Is it possible? A world that has accepted the image of what God is? Laughable. ( Arceus 7-15-4. )"

Anybody reading this should know that it was just a statement on religion. However, the numbers scattered across the message baffled and mystified Lancer. He figured when he got to Checkpoint: Orpheus and gave this message to that Eizzan person.

"What the hell did that mean…?" Lancer thought to himself as he rolled up the letter into a scroll, "It must be some kind of poem… or riddle, but I'm sure that when I stop at Dewford town… I may get some answers." 

Black Mercury Clear Ups

~The Blight can only infect Pokemon, not humans.

~Only Blight Slaves can infect other Pokemon for there are many different classes of Blight minions.

~Blight Slaves infect a Pokemon by ripping open their flesh and spitting into their wound. 


	3. The Riocynn's Aishakiri

(This scene has been censored - Sapphire is beginning to have sexual daydreams of Lancer)

Chapter 3: The Aishakiri

Lancer sat secluded within the wheelhouse of the tugboat covered by a small blue blanket that Sapphire stored within the lower deck. He was bundled inside of the warm weaved cotton, lost in his thoughts, while Sapphire was out there in the storm studying the schematics for the boat and tinkering around with the parts and functions. Previously, they had evaded a cluster of sea rocks blocking their path. Damage was minimal but Lancer began complaining about a chance of the boat sinking if not properly maintained.

Sapphire was obligated to concur.

A lightning storm brewed; darkening the skies and creating this eerie insecure feeling. They knew mother nature could turn on them at any moment and just smash their tugboat against a cliff face or a bolt of lightning could roast them alive.

As lightning struck from above, Sapphire had walked through the entrance into the wheelhouse. The indent of her figure lit up, creating a dramatic effect as if the antagonist of a story had just emerged from the darkness. Dripping wet and shivering, she clenched herself and charged up sparks to generate heat.

Her wet body had enhanced this effect.

"You're dripping wet…" Lancer pointed out the obvious; continuing to stare blankly at the wall.

"Oh gee, do you think?"

"Here," he insisted on handing her the blanket. He did not want his little friend to catch a cold or worse. "It's the least I can do." There was a small light of compassion still buried in the young Riolu, even with all he has encountered and been through that day. He could safely say it was the worst day of his life.

"Aw, thank you so much!" Sapphire remarked. Her demeanor had instantaneously converted. She scrubbed her furry body down; jumbling up her fur into a disorderly tangle.

"So how is the boat doing? How bad is the damage?" Lancer probed as he huddled himself up, trying to conserve whatever heat he still contained within his small body.

"There really wasn't anything to fix; but better safe than sorry right?"

"Yeah."

Lancer kept silent as an aftermath. He sat there, feeling the desire to divulge but felt no need to do so with a stranger. Sapphire looked up at him to notice that the little Riolu was holding back incoming tears, he wiped his eyes before they started to flood his face.

"He must be thinking about his brother." Sapphire assumed. She did not want this emotional creature on her ship the entire time, when she asked Lancer to accompany her; she was hoping for somebody to laugh and joke around with. However, she was there, he needed help and she was available to do so. "What are you thinking about?" she wagged her tail.

Lancer looked up at Sapphire, her gentle smile piercing a hole within his heart. Something about it made him break down, something about it made him want to spill his soul out to her; tell her everything. "My brother gave his life to make sure I lived… and what use am I? Why should a hero like himself die and I live?"

"Please, don't say that!" Sapphire implored, firmly gripping his paws. She looked down, a broken Riolu before her, desiring no future. She resents this no matter how attractive she thought he was; believes it is for the pathetic, however, she must reword it kindly. "I believe that everybody has a meaning, if we didn't then why would we be here?"

Lancer groaned and turned away from her as another bolt of lightning struck, the rain beating down on their boat as it rocked back and forth aimlessly. Those open waters activating Lancer's repressed memory banks.

"Come on, talk to me! You've just sort of secluded yourself here the entire time; barely saying anything." Sapphire insisted as she sat down across from the Riolu, her eyes burning into his. She momentarily avoided eye-contact. "I'm guessing this is about your brother?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm pretty obvious, huh?" his blue eyes glowed in the darkness, illuminating gloriously as lightning lit up the land. "All my life he was there for me. Like a bodyguard in a way. He always protected me and sort of spoiled me. I never could do anything by myself. I know I was always an inconvenience and it really bothered him how dependent I was. The last words he said to me were: 'You'd better not let this death be in vain, you big baby'."

Sapphire shifted to the left and rubbed her forehead. "You're not a big baby, though."

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

"Honestly though, I don't think-"

"Can we skip this?" Lancer suggested. "I know what I am."

"Um, okay. No problem." Sapphire, sympathetic, felt obligated to do something special for Lancer; something to make him just momentarily forget about his problems. Though, admittedly, she was aiming to do this for herself as well. Endorphins being released during sexual activity was the perfect form of a pain killer and she then had offered herself to Lancer.

The inexperienced Riolu, dumfounded, was unaware of her somewhat subtle attempts to get both of them some of these endorphins.

Sapphire, cuddling up next to him, wrapped herself in his arms and buried her face in his chest. "Ah, you're so warm." Her ears gently rubbed up against him. "Mmm~"

"Um, thank you?" completely oblivious, Lancer tried to scoot away a little; attempting to "unviolate" his violated personal space.

"Y'know… they say that sharing body heat is one of the best ways to keep warm." She rubbed his belly. "I was out in the rain all day, I think I might catch a cold." She placed herself upon his waist, still burying her face deep into his fur. "Can you find a way to heat me up?" at this point, she did not care that he was 14 years old. Her travels limited her relationships and she was constantly needy.

This would be a huge flaw to being an adventurous solo scout.

"Maybe you could exercise or something?"

Sapphire, becoming a little frustrated, tried her luck once again. "I'd rather you be the one to warm me up, Lancer." She rolled those words out of her mouth as seductively as she could, but…

"Aura Calefaction." He muttered, his body tensing up and releasing a large amount of body head… so large and sudden that it forced Sapphire to flinch. Well, it did warm her up as if she were in a spa. As an aftermath, Lancer seemed drained; his eyes looking heavy. "How's that?"

"Ah, hehe, thanks, Lancer." She dismounted the little Riolu, her entire face rouge. She contemplated her situation and concluded: "I guess it's my fault for hitting on a 14 year old. Man, am I pathetic."

Time passes as Lancer stay secluded in the wheelhouse feeling sorry for himself. After realizing that sex definitely was a no-go for the Riolu, she needed an alternative way to help him out in his time of need. Talking it all out. Sure it was not as stimulating but it was effective.

She had returned, dripping wet once again. "Heya." She greeted, trying to shake off the moisture from her fur. "How're you doing?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?"

"Heh." She failed to acknowledge what he said, instead, she altered the subject to her choice. "I stopped the boat for a little bit because the storm's getting too bad." She gestured how she secured the tugboat to a boulder and deployed the anchor. "We have time; wanna talk about anything?"

"As a matter of fact," he proclaimed. "Yeah. I wanted to… sort of… get all of this off my chest."

"Well." Sapphire wrapped herself in the blanket once again; a puddle forming under her. "I'm here. Okay? Go ahead and let it all out." She reassured.

Lancer offered no contention. Disclosure was what he had waited for; the opportunity to share his problems with another for it seemed that whenever he coveted communication, the world never had the time to listen.

The story he was brewing up was one before he even knew how to fire a slither of Aura out of his body. Back then when he was the runt of the Riocynn Pack.

"A long time ago-" Lancer started, trailing off in his sea of thoughts. His mind instantly focused on the day he gained knowledge about his Pack's "god-given genetics". He learned that he, like the rest of his pack, were blessed with immense, incomprehensible powers. To be capable of having full and complete control of their aura and being able to bend it into an entirely unique fighting style.

This ability was entitled: The Aishakiri.

Five years earlier, the Riocynn Pack have been categorized within a group of Pokemon in which humans have named: Anomalies. In other words, similar to mutants of some sort; being deformed in one way or another.

Lancer would remember his father constantly praising him. Convinced of greatness in the future. He could remember being trained much more than the other Riolus; his training exercising noticeably more brutal and challenging. To learn how to control his Aura to its full extent, however, was something he never quite understood.

The Aishakiri is known to have fifty techniques. Fifty different abilities to use and bend to the user's will. Nonetheless, the other Riolus only had to learn ten of their choice. It was their limit. Lancer, on the other hand, was expected to master all fifty variations. He could never get more than 7 though but his father persevered; challenging the young Riolu to his physical boundaries.

By the time the Blight had rose to power, regrettably, Lancer had only learned the normal Riocynn Riolu limit of Aishakiri techniques: Ten. It was too late by then, for by the first days of the infection, the entire Riocynn Pack was wiped out.

Sapphire, upon hearing this, placed a paw atop her heart. Lightning struck and her citrine fur illuminated to the point where she bared similarity to an incandescent bulb. "I'm sorry." She poured her sympathy out like a waterfall; preparing to cry for him if the need arose.

"It's not your fault, of course." Lancer needlessly contended as he focused on the downpour meeting the tugboat's wooden main deck beyond the door's threshold. "The Aishakiri is a very powerful thing though, I'm not surprised the Blight would focus on us first. Though Isaac, heh, he was so great. Such a hero and all with his limit of ten Aishakiri abilities. Sometimes I wish it were him who was the one being praised by everybody. All I did was fail; I couldn't learn the two-hundred techniques but if Isaac did… oh man… he would be like a god among Pokemon."

"I can see you really looked up to him, huh?" single drops of water at a time plummeted between the two. Lancer eyeballed the roof; locating a hiatus in the paneling as he thought of an appropriate response.

"Yeah. I always looked up to him. I always wanted to be a hero like him." his face, gradually, became warped. He continued: "Though, sometimes he scared me."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Sapphire read his messages like Isaac was some sort of saint and now he says this? Feeling misled, she wondered what was the worst he could have done.

Lancer clarified.

Night befell the Hoenn Region, icy midnight winds ripped through the woodlands neighboring Oladle town and after a grueling day of training it was time for the Riocynns to establish an encampment. Threats were always considerate; they were constantly in need of protection because Anomalies were never the most accepted Pokemon in the world. They would inaugurate 4 outposts surrounding their encampment and garrison each with 3 Riocynns.

Isaac had been chosen for Sentry duty for the Northern Outpost. Lancer, however, desired to stay with his brother so, as the entire clan slept peacefully, he crept out.

Lancer's little feet plopped against the moist ground; each step unable to be discreet. He arrived to see the other 2 Sentries that Isaac was assigned with but there was no Isaac. Perplexed; all Lancer could think of doing was patiently waiting which had rewarded him. Isaac finally emerged from the vegetation in the distance as a shadowy figure, like an assassin approaching his target.

"Isaac, where the hell where you all of this time?" one of the Lucarios bellowed.

"My business is my business," Isaac serenely contended. "Don't worry about it."

"You know," the second Lucario kept silent as the first hammered Isaac. "Sometimes there must be punishments for your actions, you can't expect us to let you go free without any-" he prematurely concluded his counter.

Isaac's iris pigment had converted to jade. He was becoming volatile; showing the key sign of a choleric Riocynn. Isaac scowled at the Lucario; aura charging, his body becoming luminescent. It was definitely time to shut the hell up and the Lucario knew it.

"No, no, Isaac, there is no need for the Aishakiri at a small problem such as this!" he pleaded. "Just calm down, alright? Calm down."

"The Aishakiri?" Lancer whispered. "Where have I heard of that before?"

"Yeah Isaac," the second Lucario finally spoke. "We are just asking you to stay at your post from time to time, we can't keep letting you get away with this stuff."

Isaac sighed. "Yes, yes, I apologize. I am under a lot of stress and I don't feel like being scolded by you two." His eyes reverted back to their normal, azure state.

Lancer was relieved, his brother was not going to attack, but this had struck him as deception. What was this "Aishakiri"? Why has Lancer never heard of it? He could only conclude that it had something to do with Isaac's shift in eye color. 

He waited until the following day when he could train with his brother. He asked him about the Aishakiri, but Isaac took that as a crime. He covered his little brother's mouth and bonked him on the head. Lancer gave the appropriate response: "What the heck was that for?"

Isaac divulged, knowing that this secret had been prematurely exposed somehow. The Aishakiri was only meant to be introduced to Riocynns who had mastered 4 of the "non-anomalistic" Riolu abilities. This was the only way the style could be introduced to the Riolus of the pack. They were to learn Force Palm, Endure, Quick Attack and Aura Sphere or else they could advance to the second world of fighting styles known as the Aishakiri.

There were 50 different uses for the Aishakiri, 50 different variations of Aura control… nearly every one as useful as they were deadly.

Especially the 50th.

It was kept a secret due to the fear that Riolus would become impatient and attempt to learn the Aishakiri before they were capable of doing so. If so, the consequences could be dire.

**

"So, what does this 'Aishakiri' do anyways?" realizing that Lancer had this so-called Aishakiri, it changed her opinion on him slightly. More than thinking of him as this tag-along Riolu, now she saw him as this admittedly frightening being. This Riocynn ability sounded overpowered.

"The Aishakiri is just having full control of your aura if you are a Riolu or Lucario," he explained. "We can shape our Aura, make it have different uses, and even solidify it for massive damage or protection."

Sapphire's fear was becoming perceptible. Nonetheless, this fear had an adverse effect on her. It excited and actually aroused her. Her mentality was in confrontation with itself. On one side she had this dangerously sexy Riolu… though on the other hand he was riddled with the fragrance of adolescence. What to do, what to do.

"Are you alright?" Lancer's voice was Sapphire's call back to reality. She had this vacant look; her mind had escaped and gone on vacation for a brief moment.

Snapping out of it; Sapphire attempted to play it cool. "Y-Yup. Yup I'm f-fine, hehehe." Her unremitting stammering definitely was not making this performance authentic. "Just g-got lost in my little old train of thoughts, y'know? N-No biggie, no biggie. Please, continue!"

**

Lancer, still staying on his previous subject, recollected to another moment when his brother had scared him. This was the first time he had witnessed his brother in combat.

Skip to 5 months after the previous incident with Isaac; Lancer had finally mastered the 4 required abilities to acquire the Aishakiri. As his father trained him during the day, Lancer would be sent to Isaac during the night.

Now, entering the Sinnoh region, the Riocynn Pack had once again inaugurated an encampment in the outskirts of Snowpoint city. No forms of cloth were permitted as a phase of training for the children. The phase: To be capable to concentrating their aura into a mass of body heat; a very difficult task since they had just began training with the Aishakiri. By now, sadly, two Riolus had frozen to death but not Lancer, no, somehow the icy winds and freezing snow beneath him remained completely ineffective.

It had might as well be summer for him; guess he had already it mastered and this was a cause of confusion among the elders of the Pack. They knew he was special, but to be able to master aura concentration and convert it into heat on the first attempt was unheard of.

Lancer and Isaac were currently training about a mile away from the encampment, hoping for some peace and quiet for Lancer to concentrate.

"Like… this, big brother?" his arms stay outstretched before him; erected as he took a horse stance in the snow with two pine trees arching over him. He charged his aura and redirected it towards his upper body. Lancer released it through his paws, hoping for a triumphant outcome but… nothing escaped. "What the heck…?"

Isaac sighed; his paws behind his back; a cunt-hair away from his tail. "How can you master Aura Calefaction in one try but not be able to simply fire out a tiny amount of aura from your paws?"

"What is there to be angry about, though?"

"Heh, dad always tells me that that's your favorite response."

"No, I'm being serious though. My life is great, I have a loving family and-"

"Lancer… let's get back to your training, shall we?" Isaac muttered, expressing a barely noticeable repugnance. "Okay. Father is trying to train you through channeling your infuriated aura, correct?"

"Correct!"

"How about we try serene aura, huh?"

"Wait a second though, Isaac."

"Hmm?"

"How do you expel your aura? Through serenity or rage?" 

Isaac glared at his little brother, silencing the little Riolu. His mind raced; a certain desire to divulge and let his brother know exactly what was on his mind but instead… "I'd like to keep that a secret, now focus on your own training."

Before Lancer could counter, the rustling of bushes was heard. Footsteps detected as they crunched on the snow and negative energy identified. A high killing intent. "Locals." Isaac observed as two male Abomasnows emerged from the snow-covered vegetation; towering over the Lucario and Riolu. They were silent, humble giants until they decided to open their mouths. 

"Look at them eyes." The first one stated as his light violet eyes leered at Lancer, frightening the poor Riolu beyond reason. "Now I 'dun't' believe Lucarios are supposed to have them blue eyes. Now aren't they s'pose to be red?" their southern accents quickly irritated Isaac. His eyes, stressed, shifted to jade.

"Oh ho!" the second Abomasnow exclaimed. "That one's changed! His eyes changed! Ooh, I think we got ourselves some Anomalies here!"

Isaac remained silent; his normally serene demeanor was not to be found. Lancer could sense the aura building up in his big brothers' body; an immense amount. "He's not going to-" Lancer cut himself off, praying that this would not have to end with snow slicked out in gore.

"Dun wanna talk, eh?" the first one said, approaching Lancer. "How 'bout we just show you what we do to yo kind around here. A little demo for yo little one!"

Lancer, petrified, simply froze as the Abomasnow lunged towards him. Witnessing such a gargantuan beast dive in his direction was, without a doubt, the scariest thing he had seen so far. He closed his eyes and flinched; everything became inaudible. Then…

"Lancer. Lancer!" Isaac shook his little brothers' shoulders as he knelt down to his level. "Are you kidding me, Lancer?" being thrown back into reality by Isaac's raised voice; the first thing Lancer saw was the bloodbath encircling him. The Abomasnows had been mutilated beyond belief and all in a matter of seconds. "You would be dead right now, Lancer, if I wasn't here. You need to learn to protect yourself!"

"I… I…" Lancer, unable to hold his incoming tears, bawled his eyes out. He collapsed atop his knees, tears running down his face. He tried to form a sentence, he really did, but was unable to. Everything had happened so quickly, without warning. Plus, to top it all off, to see Isaac's true power. To see how he could mutilate lesser beings in such a brutal way. The Abomasnows bodies were scrambled beyond recognition; blood and guts stained the white snow and Lancer's body. He could feel it… he could feel the blood trickling down his neck, his arms, his legs.

Lancer broke down, uncontrollably sobbing; unable to cease no matter how hard he endeavored.

Isaac, bowing his head in ignominy for his brother, departed without another word… leaving his brother to weep in seclusion.

**

"Wait, Lancer, do you hear that?" Sapphire interfered in Lancer's storytelling. She heard the clash of lightning, but this was closer than the other strikes that had originated out of the rainy sky. Sapphire bolted outside into the downpour; her fur instantly soaked as soon as she was exposed.

Her tail wagged back and forth repeatedly, her fur stood up on end and her ears became erected. "Not good." She whimpered; another lightning bolt ripped through the grey sky.

"What's wrong?"

"I think a lightning bolt is going to strike the ship… take cover, Lancer." She ordered as she took a hunting pose. Lancer, in fear, backed up into the very corner of the wheelhouse. He had been covered in spider webs by doing this; but in his state of fright, he barely noticed. He curled up in a fetal position, glad his brother was not there to see him puss out.

She hiked up the periphery of the wheelhouse, reaching the mainmast and balancing herself upon the top.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Lancer implored; covering his head with his paws.

"Pfft… of course I do, I'm a Pikachu! Electricity is my specialty. Let's just hope I-" a lightning bolt interjected; firing right out of the clouds and straight towards Sapphire. It seemed planned out, she must have somehow predicted exactly where the lightning would strike.

"Sapphire!" Lancer wailed as time decreased in speed. Each drop of rain took so long to hit the main deck, the pattern of the lightning bolts erratic movement was perceived and Sapphire… oh, Sapphire… Lancer could see her bend her hind legs then heroically dive headfirst towards the lightning. His heart began to beat furiously, pounding on his chest as if it were going to burst through.

At that moment, she had accomplished a staggering feat. Sapphire, using her body like a conduit, shielded the boat from the lightning by deflecting it back into the sky. However, as she did this, the lightning that had been deflected had changed color from a dark violet… to blue?

As if what she just did was an everyday occurrence, she hopped off the mainmast; landing triumphantly while she turned to lancer and jerked her paw in the air. "Yahoohoo! I do believe, good sir, that I have repelled our dangerous foe! It is imperative that you now bow down and kiss the ground I walk on." She declaimed with an inappropriate accent.

Lancer gaped at Sapphire in astonishment, now beginning to fathom the fact that his little companion had somehow acquired the talents of the next stage of produced Electricity: Aquamarine Lightning.

Black Mercury Clear-Ups

~The Riolus of the Riocynn Pack could not learn the Aishakiri if they did not already learn Force Palm, Endure, Quick Attack and Feint. It was actually a requirement or else they would literally be incapable of learning the Aishakiri.

~Aura Calefaction is the name for converting a Riocynn's aura into heat.

~"Stages" are the term for how advanced and powerful an attack from only Fire or Electricity can be.

~There are 3 Stages only for Fire and Electricity.

~Stage 1 for Fire is Red Flames, Stage 2 is Blue Flames and Stage 3 is White Flames.

~Stage 1 for Electricity is Yellow Electricity, Stage 2 is Blue Electricity and Stage 3 is Purple Electricity.


	4. SubTerrestrial Asylum

Chapter 4: The Sub-Terrestrial Asylum

Deep within a sub-terrestrial asylum inhabited with infected beings lie the descended home of the adviser, organizer, mentor and creator of the Blight: Lord Vaxrilla Aika. A female Mismagius as the ruler of the Blight; only one eye altered by the infection displaying her supremacy. Her mind was unaffiliated by the overall power of the infection itself, therefore, she took her place as a sovereign… and led them.

The odor of decaying flesh from piled up corpses intoxicated the asylum. That stench of putrescence became the norm underground; for it seemed that every night the body count would increase. The asylum was embellished with unique wall moldings which were not the least bit complimented by the fragmented remains of tile; only leaving the inlay.

The asylum was formally an underground mental institute.

A sanctuary for the great Lord Aika was where Isaac was transported. Supported by two Machokes, Isaac had awoken just at the right time to witness his introduction to the goddess of the Blight, the origin of all the devastation, dread, terror and dismay that transpired around the world. Upon Isaac's arrival, Lord Aika, oddly enough with a necklace around her ghostly neck, greeted Isaac formally with her dual conjoined voice. One of a woman's and one of a man's.

"Hello." The lack of emotion displayed in that one word coupled by the fact that Isaac identified her as Lord Aika on-sight filled him with anxiety. He felt strange… this grotesque feeling within his stomach befell him. It was as if maggots were crawling in his stomach and out through his blood stream… he knew he was infected, but he still had control of his thoughts meaning the infection had not completely engulfed him.

Even after realizing how outmatched he was against her, Isaac attempted an attack in desperation which was immediately repelled by her necklace.

Isaac was flung across the room, that sense of bravery deteriorating as soon as he collided with the inlay. He looked up at the Mismagius only to realize that the two Machokes restraining him were dead. How much energy was he just hit with?

As he tried to stand, he instantaneously realized he was incapable of doing so. He fell over flat on his snout; his aura had been tinkered with and now it was at an uproar. That maggot-infestation feeling did not help either. He was momentarily unable to focus his energy on something as simple as standing up. Blight Slaves cowered at the walls of the sanctuary; fearing their deity's indescribable vitality.

The Mismagius approached Isaac; slowly levitating towards him as if she were savoring the moment. "I greet you and you try killing me?" her face remained unaltered and apathetic as she telepathically conversed with Isaac, as was native to his Lucario brethren. "Poor manners, Riocynn."

"Oh shut the hell up!" Isaac, finally capable of moving, jumped up and actually tried attacking her again as if he had a chance. "You fucking bitch!"

"You know what I love the most about a Pokemon right before they lose their minds to the Blight?" she said as he charged her. "How violent they can be… then… just a few moments after… how they kiss the ground I levitate above." She evaded his attack which led him to come charging at her once again.

Lord Aika, feeling aggravated at this repetition, repelled him once more with the use of only her energy. The strangest part of that to Isaac was that only Riocynns should have been able to channel their energy/aura into a form of offense. How was she capable of doing this?

Once again he was flung across the room like a ragdoll as he caught a peculiar abnormality about her energy. It was sort of murky and shadowy, a type of visible black energy which closely resembled aura which sustained an azure color.

As Isaac's body met the inlay once again, two figures entered the sanctuary: A Grumpig and a Cacturne. "Lord Aika!" they called in concern. "What is going on?" they drawled as they spoke as if the infection had slowed down their minds.

"Everything is fine," Aika reassured. "I have it under control." She turned to Isaac, reveling in her immense power. "Let me tell you a little secret about your mother…" she whispered into Isaac's left ear, "…she was a good Pokemon." The necklace dangled in front of Isaac. He recognized it. "Is it bad that I relished the image of her cold, unmoving body lying before me?" and with that, Lord Aika backed away; foreseeing a retaliation from her opponent, however, she got nothing.

Isaac remained stationary, seemingly defeated. The visions of the day his parents had been killed had replayed in his head; how pathetically the most powerful Lucarios in the world, the Riocynn Pack, were all obliterated with a single blow. He reminisced; exacting all accusations towards Lord Aika, however, it was not she who committed the purge.

It was not possible for the lord of the Blight to possess one of the most injurious, lethal and devastating attacks the Riocynn Aishakiri had to offer: It was known as the Ivimono Aishakiri - The 50th Variation.

**

Fallarbor town, 4 years ago. 5 days after the first sighting of infected Pokemon.

That deafening noise of gunfire dominated the battlefield. The Sevynn Syndicate had immediately responded to a Blight Storm within Fallarbor town. Titans, human combatants, held a barricade entering the town. The Titans, with all of their integrity, suppressed the Blight. They held firm; foreseeing their doom but persevering.

Though, even after perceiving their stubborn nature, the only real reason they still stood was because the Riocynn Pack had assisted in the defense. However, even with the power of the Riocynns, the sheer numbers of the Blight marked their advantage.

"Lancer!" Isaac called as the Titans created a barricade that separated him from his entire pack. They fought on the frontlines; the death toll drastically skyrocketing. Isaac, being the only Riocynn stuck behind the barrier, watched as all of his loved ones perished one by one in the constant onslaught of devil-eyed monsters. 

Unable to take this anymore, Isaac leaped over the barrier and straight into the crossfire. A Titan hollered out to him; his voice incoherent from the gunfire. Disregarding his supposed opine, Isaac pushed forward through the crossfire; his senses aiding him as he was forced to evade all incoming bullets from his ally's barricade. Eventually, he hit the deck, ducking under the constant barrage of bullets. "Aishakiri - 12th Variation!" He cried. His aura sacks twitched as he released his energy, actually creating an amalgamation of solidification and pure energy. He had established his own personal full-body sphere shield out of his Aura. This became his only defense against the wave of bullets showering him from his flank.

In the rush of the situation, Isaac had spotted his mother carrying his little brother out of harm's way. Her blood flooded over the poor Riolu as she struggled to continue on. Isaac, taking Lancer off of her hands, was lectured by his mother about how everything their father had done was only for the best of what he believed.

Isaac could not hear her speak. The never-ending ear-shattering sounds of battle would not allow him to even listen to his own mind as she delivered her words in telepathy. However, he was able to catch a single phrase: "He loves you." And with that; she formed a massive shield of Aura.

The 11th Variation of the Aishakiri.

With all of her remaining might she sustained this barrier as the skirmish endured. Isaac, dumfounded, prolonged a bemused stare to a newly emerged figure. A ghostly figure, Mismagius, side-by-side with a familiar being.

Isaac, in pure curiosity, activated the 4th Variation which was Energy Detection. Riocynns would use this to see how much energy, whether it be Aura or not, their opponents or allies were compacting in their bodies. This Mismagius, however, stored a massive quantity of an unknown type of energy within her. The energy, dark as charcoal, swirled around her as if it were alive but, upon closer inspection, the energy seemed to have been concentrated into one point: Her necklace.

Directly assisting her was a Lucario, no doubt. Though, the Aura in this Lucario was massive as well; instantly putting it on the spotlight for being a Riocynn. Isaac could not believe what he was seeing. Knowing this Mismagius was affiliated with the Blight somehow, it was safe to assume she was one of their big-shots… but a Riocynn was assisting her? Who the hell was this traitor?

"I love you!" Lisa, their mother, cried. Her fur became faded and wrinkles began to form upon her body. Isaac, before he could even think about what was occurring, began feeling this immense pressure. Uncontrollably, his and Lancer's eyes started bleeding as well.

"Mom!" Isaac shrieked. "What's happening? Why are you-" a sudden wave of immeasurable Aura flooded the vicinity, interjecting Isaac. Lisa, defending against this blast, could not bear it any longer.

No doubt about it; this was the 50th Variation of the Aishakiri.

The Ivimono Aishakiri. That traitorous Riocynn, whoever he or she was, was using the deadliest variation the Aishakiri had to offer… all of this to annihilate every Riocynn in the entire pack all in one blow.

With the luck of the gods, Lisa was able to repel this cataclysmic devastation of an Aura blast, however, this proved fatal to her. As she sustained the barricade, more Aura was released from her body to the point where her reserves had run dry. She had no more energy and was now incapable of regeneration.

With her final breath she pleaded for Isaac to escape with Lancer. With that, she gave them one last smile before she permanently shut her eyes. She body became limp and, as the Aura blast had dimmed down, her barrier died along with her.

No sounds were present. Every Titan stationed behind that barricade had been killed by the Ivimono Aishakiri. Dust had collectively risen, blocking off nearly all vision. Isaac used this to his advantage.

Isaac, heeding his mother's last words, took Lancer and sprinted as far away as he could under the cover of the dust; going in no particular direction. It was then that Isaac, free from his confusion, had realized that his mother was dead. The one person who cared for him when his father did not, gave birth to him, expressed how proud she was of him, cared for him… and loved him… was no-more.

He burst into tears, instantly regretting the fact that he never told his mother he loved her. All of this, even when she gave him the perfect opportunity to say it before her untimely death. He continuously recapped it in him mind: "I love you", until his brother, still silent, clenched onto him; burying his muzzle into his furry chest.

Looking down upon this "all-powerful" Riocynn, even though he was hopeless… at least he was one more person who loved him.

They aimlessly wandered from there-on-in until eventually locating Rustboro city. They settled down but barely spoke to one another. Their relationship as brothers had dwindled in this time as Isaac brooded to himself… building up rage against his enemy.

That Mismagius.

** 

"You're the one…" Isaac whispered. That inner rage built up by a lifetime of hatred and grudges was released all at that one point. He awkwardly vaulted towards the Mismagius; frequently spinning like a top which released Aura in the form of a drill. "Aishakiri - 21st Variation!" 

Lord Aika, monotonously feeling as if there was no point in strategizing with her arsenal of attacks, once again unleashed the blast of black energy from her necklace; however, this seemed, for the first time, ineffective. It drilled through the energy, deflecting it as he gained momentum. Lord Aika evaded, however, this led to Isaac ricocheting off of the inlay, up to the ceiling then he dashed downwards towards her once again at a startling speed.

Aika, irritated, decided to end this pitiful resistance. Somehow, she was capable of canceling out his Aura, leaving his body momentarily bare as she then struck him several times with beams of dark energy; similar to that of a Hyper Beam but much more devastatingly powerful.

Isaac grunted in pain as he collided with the inlay, bouncing 3 times until his body finally crashed against the molded walls. He became limp, as if all of the life was kicked out of him in that quick combo. He was now horrified, beyond demeaned and emasculated by this female.

The infection was getting to him, weakening him to the point of near-collapse. He could feel his mind begin questioning himself and everything he believed in. That feeling… the feeling of his mind turning on him was enough to make him crack. He began reasoning, contemplating, then just surrendered. His body overpowered his mind and forced him to give up at that moment. The Blight was taking over his body.

**

"Yes!" Sapphire screamed in anticipation, "We've finally made it to Dewford town!"

She was right, as Lancer ran to the deck of the small boat he and his companion rode it, he saw the Dewford town, though the town itself was destroyed, Lancer knew that the Checkpoint must have been nearby so he was just going to trust Sapphire and hope she knows exactly where she is going.

Firmly tying the ropes from the boat to the docks which lied next to the rubbles of the old Pokemon Center that resided in that area for such a long time, Sapphire and Lancer secured their boat and they prepared their final steps for the end of their journey.

In all of the destruction of Dewford, Lancer could barely hold back his emotions on how this town was completely annihilated. Lancer stopped to observe the almost poetic destruction of the town, the wood that emerged from the piles of ashes, the half-destroyed buildings, the litter that spread all across could have all written a poem, the rubble: the ink.

"Lancer, are you alright…?" Sapphire asked as she stepped on a large plank.

"Yeah… I'm fine, let's go." Was Lancer's quick reply as he snapped out of the destruction's pull on his attention and continued to follow Sapphire passed the town as they neared Granite Cave and made a left at the entrance straight into the burnt down forest that surrounded it.

Through hundreds and hundreds of trees, Sapphire and Lancer came along a small shack that was camouflaged within the forest by its texture.

As Sapphire slowly opened the door that lead inside of the shack, lawn tools, appliances, and cobwebs surrounding the interior, Lancer asked, "So why are we in here?"

"Well," Sapphire began as she moved the lawnmower out of the way to reveal a bookcase against the wall, "As you may have noticed, the Swarm aren't idiots and they look through every house in every area in all of the Hoenn region, but still, they aren't smart enough to figure out where Checkpoint: Orpheus is," she then slowly pulled out a book entitled "To Enter Heaven" and she finally concluded, "Welcome." as the bookcase slid to the left and revealed a secret passage way deep underground, but even as surprised as Lancer was; he could not help but feel very disappointed at the lack of security.

As soon as he decided to criticize this fatal flaw in the "great" Checkpoint: Orpheus, two Ekans revealed themselves from the darkness. "Welcome, Ms-s-s. S-s-sapphire Ryoka." The first one greeted.

"Heh, never mind." Lancer muttered.

"Who is-s your companion?" the second one queried. They both whispered as they spoke, creating a sinister feeling to the two. Lancer stayed on his guard, his eyes green as he began to think that Sapphire may have led him into some sort of trap.

"Lancer Rio… Riose… uhm…"

"Riocynn."

"Yeah, that's it!" Sapphire giggled sheepishly. She patted him on the back and whispered "Sorry, it's sort of a hard name to remember."

"It's okay…"

"Ahh, welcome Lanc-s-ser Rioc-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-"

"Oh stop it!" Sapphire laughed as she playfully bonked the Ekans on the head.

"Jus-s-st get in there, you little whipper-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-"

"You dork…!" Sapphire led Lancer away from those two, having enough of their strange sense of humor.

There was a stream of light originating to the left at the end of the tunnel, Sapphire took the lead and witnessed the entire underground Checkpoint first with a large smile on her face, "Come on, this way." She said as she walked forward passed an automatically opening door that lead to a small metallic room.

But as Lancer walked inside, the lights shut off and a scanner activated, scanning the Riolu and the Pikachu up and down, left and right until it confirmed that they were not infected. Lancer guessed that those 2 Ekans were just there for outside defense, not for security clearance. He instantly realized he was far from correct for believing this Checkpoint had no adequate security system.

"Greetings in there, stay calm, you're in a safe place, we're just scanning you to make sure you are uninfected…" a female voice announced through the speaker, that is when the second door automatically opened before Lancer and Sapphire, opening up the entrance into Checkpoint: Orpheus itself. Inside was a large hallway paved with metal as if that is what the entire installation was made of.

That is when a Froslass stepped out, this must have been the origin of the female voice they heard, she turned and looked at Lancer and Sapphire, but she was only happy to see Sapphire.

"Oh Sapphire," she began, "I'm so glad to see you've returned from your scouting, do you have any good information on the Blight?"

"Hehe, nice to see you too, Chamomile… and yes I did get quite a lot of info." Was Sapphire's response to the Froslass. Chamomile… what a strange name for the race of hers.

"Oh, how silly of me, I'd better send you down to your father, he would kill me if he knew I was delaying you over here, I trust I don't have to escort you?"

"No, you don't Chamomile, and don't worry, the Riolu is with me." Sapphire said.

"I see, well, it was good to see you again, see you later! I have… "stuff of concern" to do."

"Yeah, sitting there playing cards must be the biggest-"

"Shh!"

"Okay, okay. See you later, Chamomile!"

Lancer lifted up his letter that the female Luxray had given to him to give to the one named Eizzan, but before he could even think about how he was going to complete that mission, Sapphire said, "Let's go see my dad, I bet he's worried sick about me!"

**

"Let cut the charade, Mr. Riocynn." Aika stated as she manually activated the infection lying within Isaac. He was under her control but she felt this was a waste of his talents. The infection was only meant to receive followers that would not originally agree with her ideals, however, it made them 5 times weaker.

"Hehe… here, Isaac." She said, orbiting around him like a moon. "I'll let you witness first-hand how my elites are treated. The Anriu. I can already see it." Isaac stood motionless, his eyes glowing grassy green and piss yellow. "You'll love it. I treat my elites with such care. You'll be happy there… beginning a new life post-family decimation. Don't take anything I said earlier to heart. I value all life and hate having to fight this long and grueling war just to have my vision realized."

Isaac moaned.

"Trust me. Soon, you will be begging to stay with us."

Black Mercury Clear-Ups

~Checkpoint: Orpheus' security systems can mostly detect those who are infected… but there are ones known as Blight Spies who can somehow get passed the security undetected


	5. The Orpheus Impression

Chapter 5: The Orpheus Impression

The descending elevator into the laboratory of Sapphire's father felt like it was taking 20 years. They stood still; impatient, coupled with a nearly incurable awkward silence until Lancer turned to his companion. She watched him with the corner of her eye, faking aloofness. It was difficult. It felt like every time he stared at her, he could see everything going on inside of her. She felt like he was inside her and soon he intended to be.

He took a step forward then paused as Sapphire instinctively retreated. Her tail lowered and she began to stutter. "W-what are y-you doing?"

Lancer stared at her with those frightening eyes, idle like a still image. Sapphire could not even hear the grinding gears of the elevator anymore, her heart was pounding so hard and so loud that she felt like she was going to pass out.

Lancer took another step towards her and, almost like this was choreographed, she retreated and her back met the wall. A grin appeared on the Riolu's face as he now made his way towards the helpless Pikachu.

"W-w-wait! Wait! Hold o-" he shut Sapphire up with a kiss and as soon as she accepted this… she realized it was once again a vision. A flash of white light escaped her from her perverted fantasy as she stumbled around in the elevator, trying to regain her composure.

"Are you okay?" Lancer queried; leaning up against the elevator's metallic walls.

"Uhm…" Sapphire stood frozen for a few moments as she drew a blank.

"Da-ad!" Sapphire called out in a sort of melodic tune. As soon as those rusty elevator doors opened, she bolted out with screams of glee as her father, a Raichu with a little lab coat, greeted his daughter; duplicating her enthusiasm… and also abandoning his current assignment.

"Sa-apphi-re!" he responded as melodically as his daughter. They collided with eachother, clumsily landing then charging one another once again for an embrace. "Ohh! I missed you, girlie!"

"I missed you too!" Sapphire's citrine fur beamed in the bright overhead lights of this laboratory. Both of their tales wagged with excitement, they began to circle around each other in a clumsy dance.

Lancer, discomfited by this unusual welcoming, stay secluded at the threshold of the elevator; knowing not to interrupt them. They conversed about how they were doing, what was new and how did one do without the other. Lancer, while being disregarded, focused on how he was going to locate Isaac. He continuously pictured the variables of what had happened to him after they were separated.

Sugarcoating his own thoughts, he concluded that Isaac was too powerful to be kept down for long. "Yeah," Lancer thought in content with his theory. "Isaac can't be subdued by that mind-controlling thing. He's too strong. Yeah… he's probably already escaped them by now."

Lancer was brought back into reality as soon as Sapphire mentioned Rustboro city. She glanced at Lancer for a second. "Rustboro city was invaded."

"Tragic, yes, but sorry to say we already know about that." Her father turned to his work, a beaker on a workbench which fizzed a green liquid. "I hope we get even a fraction of refugees from the city, other scouts say it was completely demolished."

"It was." Lancer intervened. "However… I want you to know that some great heroes risked their lives there." He was, of course, making a reference to Isaac.

"Oh, I apologize." The father said. "I know there were great soldiers residing there and they are missed, but I never implied anything that said they were anything other than that."

"Yeah."

Mr. Ryoka smiled at Lancer and extended his paw. "You're a bright-looking fellow. Who is this, 'Sapphy'?"

"Uhm… his name is uh… Lancer-r… Ryo… Rai-oh… uhm…" she stuttered as she drew a blank.

"Riocynn." Lancer corrected as he approached the old Raichu who was, at that moment, mystified. Everyone looked at Lancer with nihilism while comments were passed around the scientists as they observed the Riolu more closely. The blue eyes seemed to have been enough for them; they were convinced he was a Riocynn but all returned to their work quickly afterwards as if in fear.

Sapphire tilted her head. "That's strange," she turned to her father, "What's wrong with them, dad?"

"Sapphy, uhm… may I have a word with your friend?"

"Uh, sure… but what's the matter?"

"Oh nothing, sweetie." He replied, bowdlerizing the situation. "Come on now, Lancer."

Lancer was prepared for a fight as he followed Sapphire's dad. The reactions of the scientists worried him and he suddenly felt like he wasn't as welcome as he was led to believe. "What's the matter, mister?" Lancer demanded, instantly pushed into a bad mood.

"No need to be angry at me, Riocynn." He returned. "I, personally, have nothing against you people."

"You 'people'?"

"You Riocynns." In his own mind it didn't sound insulting.

"Yes, I sort of caught on to that. However," Lancer said, already grinding his teeth. "What do you mean 'you people'. What the hell is that about?"

"You have to understand-"

"Oh, I do." Lancer interjected. "We're taught about prejudice in the Riocynn clan and we're taught to teach those people a lesson, so-"

"I'm not saying that, Riocynn," Mr. Ryoka tried to sustain control over the conversation, however… Lancer was being stubborn.

"Riocynn." Lancer mocked. His irritation was clear. His eyes were green; volatile. Mr. Ryoka was on edge, knowing almost nothing about the Riocynn nature but a sudden change in eye color? … Probably not so good. "Why don't you call me by my first name?"

"I apologize, I don't remember-"

"Yeah, of course you don't, because the only thing that interests you is the 'Riocynn' part, huh?"

"Listen to me, damn it!"

"No, you listen to me!"

"No! Just shut the-"

"Oh I see where this is going!" Lancer, infuriated, began to charge his aura.

Desperate, Mr. Ryoka attempted to appease the Riocynn. "Langston, Langston! Please stop, I'm trying to-"

Lancer's aura stopped in its tracks. He looked up at the elderly Raichu, aggravated. "Are you joking?"

"Damn it!" Sapphire's father showed an ineptitude of social situations, he was confused, scared and completely frustrated. "I'm old, I'm no good with names! I named my daughter Sapphire, damn it! I named a yellow Pikachu 'Sapphire'! You kidding me?" his emotions exploded all at once, mostly fear knowing this Riocynn could kill him with barely an effort, that he started babbling on to make himself look pathetic for some sympathy.

Lancer's eyes became blue again, feeling guilt for most-likely enforcing a stereotype. He let his guard down.

"I married a Pikachu named Jade… my name is Garnett… we're just a family of jewels dammit!" he cowered. "Just calm down! I'm only trying to help you!"

Lancer bowed his head, feeling a little embarrassed for this Raichu. Lancer exhaled sharply and crossed his arms.

"Um, what's going on?" Sapphire's shadow engulfed the two of them as she blocked the light of the laboratory.

Garnett took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "I wanted to warn you… Luh… Lah…"

"Lancer."

"I apologize." He took another deep breath. "I wanted to warn you because my daughter doesn't know about this. You'd be surprised how many people here hate Riocynns."

Lancer's heart skipped a beat. He learned from his teachers that it was always envy that other Pokemon felt. They were jealous of their power so they alienated the Riocynns. They were those "perfect beings" and it was a good Riocynn's job to show how great they were by helping out the common folk… but hate? This was foreign to him.

"Seriously?" Sapphire muttered. She glanced at Lancer, incapable of accepting this. "Why? They don't seem bad. I mean, Lancer almost attacked me, sure but-"

"What?" Garnett nearly roared with outrage. "He what?"

"Excuse me, dad, I said 'almost'. It was just instincts." She defended. "I think I'm more to blame anyways; I popped out of nowhere like a predator or something." She giggled.

"…but, ugh." Lancer was at a loss for words. Riocynns were great beings, the strongest of all packs developed after the Anti-Pokemon Revolution. Envy? Sure. Hate? Unacceptable unless enemies of the pack itself. "What exactly do people around here have against us?"

"That, I do not know." Garnett responded, most likely protecting the Riolus feelings as to not get him into a homicidal rage. He knew nearly nothing about Riocynns other than they were almost uncontrollable when infuriated. "However, I'm certain the unusual eye color would attract people to you. That's an easy fix."

"What?"

"Colored pliable hydrophilic hydrogel plastic lenses of course! Hehe…" Garnett gestured with his paws to his eyes. Lancer and Sapphire both obliviously stared at him. "Or 'contacts'." Finally he received a reaction. "Just put them on and you'll have red eyes like any other normal Riolu."

Lancer's left eye twitched. "So, what… I'm not normal enough for your Checkpoint now?"

"Ahh! That's not what I meant!" Garnett got on all fours. "I apologize, I apologize, I apologize!"

Sapphire, dumbstruck by the patheticness of her father, gave a sigh. "Sorry, Lancer… my dad is… so-o freaking embarrassing."

"Really? I never would've guessed." Sapphire pouted at his sarcasm.

"Bleh, shut up."

"Don't fret." Garnett reassured. "No harm will befall you as long as you stay in disguise."

"Wait a second," Lancer blinked repeatedly to adapt to contact lenses. He stared at himself in the little mirror Sapphire gave him. "What about your staff? What if they talk about this?"

"Pfft, of course they will!" Garnett whispered. He turned to one of his fellow co-worker Chanseys who was gawking at the Riocynn from outside of the room and gestured for her to continue working.

"Great… then what was the point of these contacts?" Lancer, feeling a little insecure in this disguise, refused to make eye contact with anybody.

"Don't worry." Garnett, once again, bolstered. "As long as you're disguised, nobody will suspect you even if my coworkers do converse about this topic. People won't just go around trying to slap the contacts off of Riolus. Plus, nobody here is any kind of activist or extremist. Just because they dislike you… and/or hate you, they won't send anybody to execute all of the Riocynns in the Checkpoint."

"They won't need to," Lancer interpolated. "The Riocynns have been wiped out, so… me being here may just be some sort of phenomenon." Those words escaped his lips, but that didn't mean he had given up on his brother. Every single passing second would result in some mere thought of his big brother.

Garnett perplexedly glared at Lancer. He had heard differently, however, his source of information was a compilation of rumors. He was inclined to believe an actual Riocynn as opposed to a chattering Roselia. "Once again, I apologize."

"Well, thank you for your help." Lancer set his sights on the exit. "Now, I need to go on to other things." He had wrapped the note given to him by the infected Luxray on his arm for safe keeping and as soon as he unraveled it, a look of horror befell Garnett.

"W-what are you doing with that?" he refused to look at the letter more than he had to.

"The letter?" Lancer wouldn't have classified this musty-smelling leathery letter as anything of real importance other than delivering it to some Pokemon. "Well, this Luxray wanted me to give it to some guy named Eizzan or something. I don't know, she seemed like she knew who I was and that means this guy knows who I am. I was thinking about giving him a chance and maybe-"

"Don't do it."

"What?"

"Do… not… do it." Garnett placed a paw atop Lancer's shoulder. "Trust me."

"Who are they?"

Garnett paused and stepped away from Lancer. The way he spoke… he must have had a personal issue with Eizzan or whoever these people are.

"Are they a group or something?" Lancer asked.

"An organization."

Lancer's interest skyrocketing every second Garnett built up this dramatic tension. All he could think about was if he could get this organization to assist him in locating Isaac. "What is their name?"

"Dad?" Sapphire poked him in his side. "What's wrong?"

"Sapphy, leave us alone for a little bit, okay?" he forced a smile. "This'll probably bore you anyways."

"…but-"

"Come on, Sapphy…"

She sighed. "Okay… fine…" as she exited, Garnett bowed his head.

"What is this organization's name?" Lancer repeated.

Garnett turned to Lancer, tears flooding his cheeks. "They're called 'The Silent Fraternity'."

"Whoa," responding to the tears, Lancer felt like he was shoved into some awkward drama show. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing. However," Garnett wiped his tears. "Don't do it. They'll take away your freedom… and that's the most merciful thing they'll do if you're not what they're expecting."

"What do they do?"

"They're supposedly a group dedicated to 'helping' the Checkpoint but with their leader, 'Ratio', all they've done, in my opinion, is complicate everything." Neither Lancer nor Garnett made eye contact. "If they called you… it can't be good."

"You said they were an organization."

"Yes."

"Are they good with technology?"

"Yes, but I don't see where-"

"That's good enough for me." Lancer took his first steps out of the room when Garnett interrupted him.

"You can't really be trying to look for them, are you?" Garnett tried his hardest to push the Riolu back but his strength was insufficient.

"I have to." He continued with the Raichu trying, in vain, to stop him.

"No, you don't! Why? Why are you-"

"My brother."

"…what?"

"My brother was lost in the raid of Rustboro city." Lancer's color-altered eyes glared straight through Garnett. He felt that same sensation as Sapphire… as if Lancer was inside of him. "If there's any hope of me finding him, I need to find this organization. If I can gain their trust and perhaps do them a few favors… they may, in turn, help me. Maybe they could locate him with some crazy technological device but-"

"There are much more efficient ways to go about doing this, Riocynn!" he wish he could take that last word back. He knew this would irritate Lancer but he continued. "This isn't an Role-Playing game! You can't just go around asking to do favors in return for assistance in finding your lost sibling!"

"Once again with the 'Riocynn'." Lancer muttered as Sapphire rushed back.

She saw her father before Lancer, trying to stop him. Begging and pleading for him to find a better way as opposed to visiting the Silent Fraternity. She did not speak for something else caught her eye. "What the…?" one of the scientists, a human, was escorting a brute-like Manectric into the scene. Scars riddled the Pokemon and he had a glare that could break some of the strongest of spirits.

He set his eyes on Lancer as he was arguing with Garnett. Sapphire, in disbelief, repetitively shifted her attention from the Manectric, to Lancer, to the Manectric and to Lancer once again until the lighting in the laboratory dimmed.

Lancer's eyes, under the red contacts, became volatile as he sensed a present danger. Garnett's words flashed through his mind. "Just because they dislike you… and/or hate you, they won't send anybody to execute all of the Riocynns in the Checkpoint." He found himself staring at a Manectric charging electricity, however, everything progressed too quickly for it to be coherent. Stage 3 violet lightning was discharged in his direction. The unblockable, barely absorbable Stage 3 Lightning collided, surprisingly, with the small body of Sapphire who had leaped in the path of destruction.

Unable to deflect something as powerful as this, Sapphire attempted to absorb the energy into her fragile body; similar to what she had accomplished when lightning struck her tugboat. Her body was engulfed in the amethyst lightning. Truly, despite the horror, it was a beautiful thing to watch Sapphire's Stage 2 azure lightning blending with the Manectric's. In the midst of this intensity, she suddenly had visions. Her life had flashed before her eyes and one image, in particular, was grasped and once again burned into her mind. The sounds of struggle and the feeling of helplessness. She had witnessed a Pokemon from her past. "You…"

Incapable of fully taking in all of this power, Sapphire was flung across the room at an alarming velocity.

"Sapphire!" Garnett felt helpless, as if all he could do was call her name. He rushed to his daughter lying limp on the cold, metallic floor as the Manectric, in shock, fled the scene. "Riocynn, you-" as soon as he scanned the area, he had realized that Lancer had fled as well.

Paramedics were called in, but it seemed like it was too late. Sapphire was about to die. Only those blessed with an immense amount of luck could hope to survive Stage 3. "Dad?" Sapphire whispered shakily. Garnett couldn't respond. "Don't worry." She smiled. "The lightning didn't kill me."

Garnett wished he could believe this after seeing this huge burn mark on her stomach. "Yeah…" he whispered, burying his face in her fur. "…You did it. You did the impossible." He remembered the days where Sapphire would, out of nowhere, query about Stage 3 Lightning and how to achieve that power. Or, at least, how to defend herself against it. He never did give a satisfactory response.

"Aw, man." Sapphire giggled weakly, then, as her eyes began to close… Garnett knew this was it. "Come on, dad. I still have so much left to do. You really think I'm going to die?" The paramedics had finally arrived and hastily escorted her to the hospital, leaving that last statement to Garnett. Paralyzed, he sat with his arms folded in the same position as if Sapphire where still in his arms. The laboratory staff had circled around him, muttering to themselves.

"Girl…" he murmured. "…if you die…" he forced a smile. "…you're grounded."

Black Mercury Clear Ups

~Stage 3 Lightning or Fire almost always result in instant death

~It is not illegal to be a Riocynn in Checkpoint: Orpheus, but it may prove to be a difficult experience

~There is only one laboratory in Checkpoint: Orpheus and it is where new methods of fighting the Blight are experimented.

~The Silent Fraternity are said to be Checkpoint: Orpheus' defenders, however, nobody in the entire Checkpoint trusts any Silent Fraternity agent.

~The Silent Fraternity are led by a man codenamed "Ratio" who is said to be schizophrenic. This is one of the biggest concerns for the Checkpoint, knowing that their undercover defense agency is led by a schizophrenic man.

~Riocynns, no matter how powerful their defensive skills may be, cannot deflect or block any Stage 3 attacks.


	6. The Froslass

Chapter 6: The Froslass

Garnett had been idle for 8 hours as he awaited the delayed response from the doctors trying to save Sapphire's life. He was patient and silent with his head bowed; eyeballing the tile floor beneath him. 8 hours spent just staring at tile and thinking to himself.

He sweetened his thoughts as he replayed the attack in his mind countless times. He tried to remember exactly what Sapphire did when she came in contact with the Stage 3 lightning and if she could possibly survive this.

Even if she was an electric-type Pokemon, Stage 3 lightning had enough intensity to outright kill her. "Oh, Sapphire." He thought. "What were you doing?" the image of Lancer flashed in his mind along with a rage for his daughter's foolishness. "Why did you try to save him?" by what he had heard, she only knew him for a few days. She was never ordered to scout Rustboro city so there was no way she could have met him any time before the invasion of the city.

"You risked your life for a stranger?"

Before Garnett knew it, a Chansey loomed over him. "Uhm, Mr. Ryoka?" she seemed disheartened which disturbed him. "I'm sorry, but-"

"No!" Garnett roared. He jumped up from his seat. "You'd better not tell me that-"

"No, no, no!" the Chansey replied; gesturing for the Raichu to calm down. "I was trying to say that we won't know of her chances of survival for another day or two. I'm sorry."

"Oh. Oh, my…" Garnett sat back down, greatly relieved that he didn't hear what he thought he was about to. "Okay then."

"I apologize for scaring you," the Chansey said. "Me and my clumsy choice of words…"

Garnett did not respond. He resumed staring at the tile floor and pondering as Lancer watched from across the hall, hidden behind the corner. "A few days, huh." He muttered as he decided to take his leave; feeling great guilt and directing his frustration right back at Sapphire. "Stupid girl, I could've dodged it." He said it… but he knew he couldn't.

The search for the Silent Fraternity had commenced and Lancer honestly had no idea where to begin. As soon as he was engulfed in the underground city, Checkpoint: Orpheus, he was clueless where he was. The city, either way, was absolutely beautiful and striking. Most buildings were skyscrapers that also served as pillars to keep the massive ceiling above them, plastered over with metallic tiles, from collapsing. A huge light beamed from the ceiling and was reflected off of the metal tiles which indicated daylight for the sun-depraved residents. When the sun went down, the massive light shut down and the street lights activated.

The Checkpoint was odd with its residential system. Everybody lived in apartments which were all located on the walls surrounding the entire city while the center was used as the marketplace.

Lancer was unfamiliar with all of these customs and had a very difficult time locating anything. He was impatient to start asking questions but the image of Garnett's horror-filled glare repetitively came to mind. Perhaps he should be careful of who he asked and how he asked the question.

So, his plan was to pretend he was a messemger refugee who was ordered to deliver a letter to a member of the Silent Fraternity. What makes this plan work is the "messenger refugee" bit. If he was just going around, telling people he had received a letter from some Luxray, then it may have a more negative response.

The plan works because, as a messenger, he's forced to complete his task. The people he asks won't be inclined to think he may be one of their agents, but just a Pokemon trying to do his job. At least… that's how Lancer perceived it.

Lancer asked a great number of residents but none of them, even with his "masterful" plan in action, knew where to find the Silent Fraternity.

During his search, however, he felt this shame rising up from the back of his mind. His mother would repeatedly be quoted saying "We Riocynns must stand firm… and must not show our fear… and must be proud of what we are." He felt a deep degradation being forced to conceal who he was under contact lenses.

He was a Riocynn… he should be allowed to parade his "greatness" but he was obligated to follow Garnett's words. The old man seemed to know what he was talking about. It was safer this way but it dishonored Lancer to no end.

In his search, quickly, he was discouraged and stopped to take a break. "Whoa…" he grabbed his stomach as it furiously rumbled. "…Shut the hell up, stomach." He hadn't eaten anything that entire day. Conveniently enough, there was a restaurant not too far from him: "Restaurant #15" was its name. "Seriously?"

That served to unshackle Lancer's perception of Checkpoint: Orpheus. Everything was so organized… so tidy to the point where every service was identified only by their number: "Super Market #4, DVD Rental #8, Hair Saloon #3". The residents seemed to have been forced to stay to one side of the road while walking to avoid collisions. It was almost like accustomizing with driving regulations.

Also, all the while, Lancer felt as if he were being followed. He never had any reason to suspect, but his eyes, under the contacts, would shift from volatile to serene repeatedly. Were city spies tailing him?

He stepped into "Restaurant #15" and ordered pizza along with some soda to prolong his stamina. He planned to search the entire night. The waitress was a very friendly and outgoing human. Her name was Mei Leonarz. A very clumsy waitress but very amicable. Lancer was never really exposed to humans that much; he was a little nervous around her.

She was actually on her dinner break right after she served Lancer his food so, being very social, she decided to sit next to him with a plate of salad and a water bottle coupled with a straw.

Mei had red hair and blue eyes and this very formal black and white waitress uniform which reflected on the person responsible for the dress code. Apparently, he liked his waitresses walking around in very short skirts with no sleeves and seamed lace-top stockings.

She also tried to speak intelligently but ended up sounding ignorant; forgetting words often or not using them correctly. She would hear words used then try to mold them into her own image.

"So, you're a refugee, huh?" Mei started. "I heard that the outside is really _diminutive_ right now." …see? (Diminutive means small)

"Uh-huh…" Lancer was busy shoving his food down his throat to give a proper response. After he was done, he didn't even know if he should ask Mei if she knows the location of the Silent Fratenity's hideout. She seemed too… stupid to know.

"Not very talkative, are you?" Mei inquired as she used her tongue to play around with the straw to her drink.

"I am… when I need to be."

"You look so mysterious, y'know that?" she giggled. "You walked in with this… uhm… this blank face and everything. You on a mission, little guy?"

"Yes."

Mei's smile instantly faded and she gave a sheepish laugh. "Uh-huh. Gonna go find a bomb hidden in the Checkpoint, huh?" Mei obviously didn't believe him. She jabbed him with her elbow a couple of times while he was trying to drink his soda.

"No."

"So, anyways," she changed the subject. "Where'd you come from?"

"Rustboro city."

"Didn't that place get disestablimembered?"

"…what?"

"Disestablimembered. You know, uh… blown up or something?"

"…disestablimembered isn't a word."

"Huh?"

"Never mind…" Lancer would give so much money just to be able to 'facepaw' without looking like a jackass. "Yeah, it did. My brother helped me escape and he got captured. I'm pretty sure he's already freed himself though so all I need to do is find out where he might be."

"But if your brother got captured, then-" she stopped herself, knowing this Riolu still had hope. It wasn't her place to destroy it. "Okay, now I see. Uhm… but how are you gonna get him retrievified?"

"…" Lancer broke down her embarrassing grammar and figured she meant to say retrieve. "I wanted to… ah, whatever, I'll get him somehow. I need to locate the Silent Fraternity for a job I'm doing. I need to deliver a message." It was a sloppy way to deviate from his real situation to his substitute.

Mei, with her index finger to her lip, pondered. Lancer reacted to this, believing that he had found his answer where he least expected. To think that somebody as oblivious as Mei Leonarz could-

"Nope, never heard of it."

Lancer's heart dropped. "Really…?"

"What's a silenced fracturnisy?"

"…never mind."

Lancer was left to his thoughts as soon as Mei's break was spent. She allowed him to hog up the table after he admitted he had no home in the Checkpoint as of yet. She showed sympathy and reserved his table for him and him only. Beneficial to him, "Restaurant #15" was open 24 hours and Mei worked the nightshift.

He left to search for 4 hours more but returned to the restaurant with little progression. The most information he received was from some Typhlosion who said they might be somewhere on the western half of the Checkpoint.

The table was ready for him. Mei had cleaned it up and led him back where, as soon as he sat down on those nice, cushiony seats… he fell asleep. "Hehe… he's so cu-ute!" Mei squealed as she brought him a blanket while one of the other waitresses was passing by.

"Uh… what's going on here?" she asked Mei.

"He's homeless right now." Mei responded. "I wanted to help him a little because… y'know… that's so… _exultant_ for the Checkpoint to not let him have his own apartment." (she meant "unfair" as opposed to "exultant")

Lancer had returned a couple of years to the past where he was training with Isaac. Back when the Riocynn Pack was in the Sinnoh Region. In Snowpoint city. Back when things made sense.

His mind impatiently skimmed through everything leading up to the point where Isaac had murdered those Abomasnows. Lancer opened his eyes and everywhere… everything was slick with gore while Isaac loomed over the intenstines with a devilish smile. His green eyes beamed as the world behind him disintegrated into a revolting fountain of disembodied heads; all piling around Isaac in a void of green nothingness.

"We…" Isaac's voice, altered into a deep, frightening tone, thundered. _"…are gods!"_

Almost instantly, Lancer had awoken with a frightened yelp, a mere 4 hours later. Mei was still on her shift and he asked her what time it was. "3:30 am." She answered, still as peppy as ever. "Oh, and I didn't wanna wake you up but, uhm… uh… I think somebody's watching you."

Confused, Lancer scanned the area then shifted his attention back to Mei. "What do you mean?"

"There's a female Froslass over there and… uh… and I think she's been looking at you while you were snoozing."

"Hey. Everything alright?" the Froslass, suddenly, was upon them. Mei nearly jumped out of her shoes but sustained her composure professionally.

"You guys know each other?" Mei queried nervously.

"Yes, ma'am." The Froslass instantaneously answered; gesturing that she had covered Lancer's response as well.

"Hmm… okay then." Mei resumed her work dilligently.

"Not to be rude, but," he took a sip of his fizz-less, warm soda that was left as he slept. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Don't you remember me? I'm Chamomile." She could instantly tell Lancer was lost by that expression he carried. "Uhm… I was the one who let you into the Checkpoint?"

His response was delayed but positive. He finally remembered her. She was Sapphire's friend who had completely ignored him. Why was she suddenly interested now? "Okay, so, is there anything you wanted?"

"Well, I figure there's no point in making this a long process," she spoke as if she rehearsed exactly what she was going to say. After all, Mei accused her of staring at Lancer while he slept. "I know where the Silent Fraternity is."

Lancer's eyes lit up. "You do?" he reassured. "You really do?"

Chamomile smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, sir."

"Can you… take me to them?"

"Not yet." She said. "I'll do it in the morning. That will be a better time for them, okay?" Here, I want you to meet me here." She handed him a prewritten slip of paper. "Room 45B on the southern section." She gave a pleasant and welcoming smile as she left as quickly as she had arrived. "Don't be late."

Lancer, stuck with this small paper, was so happy that he could barely contain himself. "Hehe, patience really _does_ pay off!" However, her news was contradictory to that Typhlosion who informed him that the lair of the Silent Fraternity was in the western section. Oh well, Chamomile was a city official since her job was to allow the uninfected into the community. She must know what she was talking about.

Arriving at room 45B on the southern section, Lancer found himself at a wooden doors superior in height compared to the rest. He knocked once and instantly Chamomile had flung the door open with that same smile she delivered earlier. "Hello, Lancer." She revealed a blank room, most likely a storage due to the many boxes present.

"Huh…" he thought, "Did Sapphire ever tell her my name or…?" Lancer could sense danger, however, it must have been the Silent Fraternity's presence. By Garnett's reactions, they must be dangerous.

"This should be the secret room that leads to the lair." She expunged, her ghostly figure shrouded in the dim light. "There should be a little pushable panel of wood that opens a secret door. Could you go over there and find it real quick?"

"Uh… okay?" at this point, he didn't care what it took. He would do anything just to get back on track to finding his brother, however, as soon as he neared the wall across the featurless room, 2 Pokemon sprung out from the ever-present boxes plaguing this little space. The Pokemon duo consisted of a female Medicham and a male Grumpig. The first thing that came to Lancer's mind was: "Silent Fraternity agents?"

Instantly they cornered the little Riolu and, oblivious to their intentions, froze in place. "Chamomile?" he charged up his aura as a precaution. "Do you know these people?"

Retaining her smile, she stared into Lancer's eyes. She had this look now, something that was present since the beginning but Lancer never noticed. She had sustained this look that says "You're mine". Then, as quickly as she popped up behind Mei in the restaurant, her smile vanished and 3 blasts of Psychic nailed Lancer against the wooden wall.

Psychic… every Riolu's weakness.

"Do you have any memories of the name "Lerastan"?" Chamomile's voice insisted she wasn't fucking around anymore. The confused Riolu struggled to break free of the Psychic's intense grip but his efforts were in vain. He was completely trapped. "Do you?" Chamomile roared; getting 2 inches away from Lancer's snout. Her eyes, her distraught and maniacal eyes, pierced his soul. Just by a look he could feel her pain.

For what? He did not know.

"No," Lancer bluntly responded. "I do not." He struggled to remain calm. It's looked down upon for a Riocynn to show fear, however, as this rule flashed in his mind… he instantly recollected his time with Isaac after Rustboro had fallen.

He was no longer capable of abiding the Riocynn code after Chamomile shouted "Remember then! You scum! You _Riocynn_ scum!"

"She… knows." Lancer had exposed himself to Chamomile as soon as he stepped foot into the Checkpoint. She was the third (counting the two guards right at the entrance) to see that a Riocynn had entered into the city, but, what confounded him was why she did not attack back then.

"God damn it!" she exerted an extensive amount of Psychic pressure towards Lancer. He felt like he could smash through the wooden wall at any moment. "I've kept my composure for far too long, _Riocynn!_" every time she said "Riocynn" her voice altered into this earsplitting, reverberating scream.

"Please!" Lancer pleaded, breaking his character and resorting back to a coward. What pained him the most about this was the fact that Isaac had outright said it multiple times. "You big baby", those words always stick with Lancer for they represent him perfectly in the eyes of his older, better, stronger brother. "I don't remember! I don't know who you're talking about!"

"You _mother fucker!"_ Chamomile's strident voice cracked. Her ferocity did not conceal itself. It was as if a slave had concealed all emotions of the loss of dignity and, all at one moment, decided to let it out on one person. "Now the murder of my protectors goes unnoticed? Forgotten in the sea of crimes you… _Riocynns_… committed?"

Lancer could not respond. This was too much for him. One minute he was trying to find the Silent Fraternity, he was helped out by a seemingly innocent Froslass, and the next minute he's pinned up against a way with 2 Pokemon looming over him while the Froslass he trusted vocally annihilates him. Tears of frustration slid down his cheeks as the Froslass guffawed at him.

"Don't give me that!" she bellowed. "Don't make it seem like you're an actual person. Like you have feelings! You… you people." Lancer recalled Garnett's similar words. "You _monsters_…" the Medicham and Grumpig watched from the background silently. "…you killed the two most loving men in the entire world!"

"What…?" Lancer burst out. "I… I've never killed anyone… in my entire life." The warrior pack of the Lucario Riocynns. The age of adulthood 15. The age to be allowed to kill. Lancer was 14 and has never been allowed without permission to take a life… and also was never willing.

"_What?" _ Chamomile's outrage was made clear. She blasted him with Psychic once more, took completely control of his body and slammed him around the room several times like a ragdoll. "You've never killed anyone? You _DARE_ say you've never killed anyone?" Lancer collided with the floor. His entire body instantly numbed. "How… how _dare_ you!" she began to weep. "I have been suffering since that day… and you sit here and mock me? Well, of course… you're a Riocynn. You don't care about your family. You have no loved ones. All you do is murder."

Lancer just about had enough of this. This constant insulting of his people. These consistent lies.

"You would never know what it's like to lose a family," she muttered. "and 5 month later… lose those who swore to protect you. All in one year I lost everybody!"

The Psychic grip the Pokemon trio had on him was beginning to weaken. He could feel his arms begin to loosen up. "No." Lancer whispered. "I know the feeling…"

"Hehe… you know what?" she forced a giggle. "When I heard the Riocynn presence in the Hoenn Region was completely wiped out…"

Lancer's eyes widened. He predicted what she was going to say but prayed it would not come out of her mouth. He seethed, hoping for the love of Arceus she wouldn't stoop so low as to say…

"…I celebrated all night long. I partied until the sun came up knowing that you Riocynns got what you deserved!"

At that moment, Lancer broke free of his possession. The Medicham panicked as Lancer instantaneously charged two balls of Aura in each paw then smashed them together creating a rippling wave which sent all 3 Pokemon hurdling against the boxes and walls. The 9th Variation of the Aishakiri: Aura Repulsion.

Lancer, giving a battlecry as his tears flowed, charged Chamomile after her solidified his Aura into a 9 inch blade. She closed her eyes, took a stance, then… Lancer was unable to move anymore. The first thing that crossed his mind was "Psychic" but it was not. He felt no Psychic energy swirling around him, binding him to a single position. No. It felt like his brain was betraying him; moving his body against his will.

It was only after a few moments that Lancer had finally realized… this was a technique he had never seen before. A single sliver of electricity would intermittently reveal itself; connected to Chamomile's forehead and Lancer's. She was using electricity to control him?

"What…" he struggled to speak, grinding his teeth as he endeavored to break free of this unholy grasp she had against him. "…What are you doing…?"

No response to his question. "You killed my protectors," she muttered. "I know it was you, I saw you there… knelt down in the middle of the gore you created."

Lancer's brain lurched. Finally he understood what she was talking about. All those years ago when he was training with Isaac. He remembered… he had a dream about it previously. It was the two Abomasnows that Isaac had killed. Those were Chamomile's protectors… that must have been what she was raving about. Though… she was incorrect. Isaac had left Lancer there to cry his eyes out after he witnessed such horror.

Chamomile must have seen Lancer weeping over her loved one's graves… therefore, she was inclined to believe he was the murderer. He calmed down. "I… I know what you're talking about."

Her expression did not change.

"I…" he stuttered. "…I'm not the murderer." He admitted. "My brother, Isaac, was." Something within him felt guilty about telling her his brother had committed this atrocity, but, it was the truth. He could not let himself be killed for his brother's actions.

"You… filthy liar!" Chamomile roared but what silenced by the Medicham who stepped up to the Riocynn. "What are you doing?"

"I want to see if he's telling the truth," she explained. "To me, he seemed very sincere, but, just to be safe… I'm going to use Mind Reader."

"Heh… good idea." Chamomile said. "Show us how much of a liar he is!"

The Medicham approached Lancer with her eyes shut tightly. She knelt down to his level as Chamomile's unnatural grip on him forced him to stand erect. Her control was so precise that she was even capable of opening his eyes against his will to stare into the Medicham's.

Her eyes pierced his soul. His efforts to shut his eyes were in vain because before he knew it… his mind was completely scanned. Lancer felt a backlash. He felt violated… his deepest thoughts penetrated and revealed to a stranger. She turned to Chamomile with an empty expression. "He's not the guy." She admitted.

"…what?" Chamomile's grip on Lancer faded and he fell to the ground facefirst. "He's… he's not?"

"No." the Medicham avoided eye contact. "I'm sorry."

Chamomile was unable to accept this. She remained idle for nearly 3 minutes, contemplating on whether she should kill this Riocynn even if he was not the culprit. She desired to vent out her anger on something today… she was prepared… prepared to avenge the deaths of her protectors, however, she felt a superiority to Riocynns which she felt she must preserve.

"I'm no murderer like you people." She said. "I would only kill those who deserve it." She turned to the Medicham. "He's never killed anyone, has he?"

"He hasn't."

Chamomile glared at Lancer for a moment as he lay facedown; expressionless. She used her Psychic to pin him up against the wall again. Lancer resembled a dead man; no expression and not even a grunt when he was slammed against the wall once again. His mind raced… almost feeling raped during this hostile situation.

"You… _Riocynns_." Chamomile spat in his face. "Don't let this be a secret… I hate your kind. I hate you people… and know that 'normal' Riolus and Lucarios I love. Your kind has brought me so much pain… so much depression… but I can't kill you. You were not responsible for the pain I went through." She turned and motioned for her group to begin leaving with her, but as soon as she was on the threshold of the exit, she turned to Lancer once more. "You're pitiable… you're pathetic and pitiable and I hate you. I hate your origins. I'm going to find your brother… and I'm going to _fucking_ kill him." And with those last words… she left Lancer alone, stricken… just as Isaac did all those years ago.

Black Mercury Clear Ups

~Checkpoint: Orpheus is known for being overly organized with their services being numbered.

~There are no advertisements allowed in the Checkpoint's broadcasting network or anywhere for that matter.

~Chamomile's technique used to subdue Lancer after her group's collective Psychic attack failed was achieved by mastering Stage 3.


End file.
